Moonstruck
by mangospoons
Summary: The mission had started off normal enough, but now Hinata wasn't so sure. Let's just say waking up next to a person you'd just seen die, and who happened to be your life-long crush, in the future wasn't exactly a planned event. *Being Edited*
1. In which Hinata wakes up with Naruto

**(Disc: I do not own Naruto. Dangit.)**

**Moonstruck**

_"There is no present or future, only the past, happening over and over again, now."_

- Eugene O'Neil 

_Live every day as if it were your last. _The words were simple and clear. That day they were spoken by a friendly sensei they had resonated deep into Hinata's mind. _To live each day as if it were your last. _As a shinobi, no other phrase could mean more in one's personal agendas. Today could easily be your last tomorrow; you had to make it count for something. But often times, Hinata didn't act on the thoughts that raced around her like shuriken, beating, striking, and slicing at her until she broke down in a messy conglomeration of ninja and hopeless little-lost girl. At months away from seventeen, this really hadn't changed much, this theory still stood steadfast, detectable by the current state of affairs that had ensued in only moments. The mission had been easy enough so far. Take the scroll, carry the scroll, and deliver the scroll. The two bands of rogues only hours apart had not been part of the plan, no step had ever included their appearance. But then again, that was surprise.

Hinata was not doing so well. No, actually, she was doing horrible. Curse Byakugan and its uncanny abilities to drain one of chakra in what seemed like only a few minutes; time weighed like hours in the fight going on. She blocked the mental fatigue of being worried and focused on her enemy, racking up numbers. Four. Eight. Thirty Two. They continued till the fall, his heavy body disintegrating onto the turf of the roadside. She was only vaguely aware of _his _presence beside her, slash, kick, and tumble, up again. It was all limbs and blood and swears. She danced in and out of her opponents grasp, eyelashes fluttering, clothes flags in the wind, ethereal, beautiful, and silent. She had no time for words; they distracted, they were a burden. Naruto was already occupied; she could go without her typical sounds of concentration, the ringing of numbers off of trees. He past the peripheral of her vision before leaping away, unseen. She had only hesitated a moment to watch his fleeting form, aware he was not abandoning her, and leapt forward again, hands distended.

They were heavily outnumbered. Ten to two was not a walk in the park, even for someone as seasoned as them, especially when only six were dead. Her eyes wavered and she stumbled on her footing, a low pant echoing off of her lips. 'No time. Keep moving, moving. Seeing, lurch, strike, see...' She pressed forward on her toes, balls of her feet springing up and landing the palm of her hand deep in his chest. Blood littered his lips and she relaxed, like an exhale of air.

The sword drove through her arm without even warning. How could she have been so stupid? Hadn't she seen him coming behind her? Sweat mixed with blood on her brow and she gasped, Byakugan wavering, holding, flickers of white hot pain across the spectrum of violet, blurring everything out. Three days of nonstop travel and Naruto as a partner. Chakra deprivation and two many to keep up with. A knife in her arm, cutting and tearing and...And...

The mistake was a natural response, though she should have been better disciplined to have let it come to this. She should never, ever have let it get in the way.

Hinata stumbled, and she screamed.

After that, Hinata was vaguely aware of the tearing of the underbrush as he rocketed out, blood ran between her fingers as she touched her arm; it was cut deep to the bone, maybe even passed...her head bobbed foreword and she opened her mouth in an attempts to find reason, but everything was going too fast. Flicker. Byakugan, Chakra, holding on. She would not let her knees hit the ground, but they did anyway. She raised her head, eyes still fighting to focus, the kunai still clutched in her palm. When had that gotten there? Reflex.

Yellow streaked in and out of the frame, her mind not having enough time to catch up. She was still panting; there was blood all over her sleeve, all over her hand, her chest, the grass. She watched in stupor as the two danced; rough, vicious, feral. Nothing at all like the refined softness of her heritage, yet so beautiful she was enthralled. Even when the katana plunged through his chest, still wet with her own life, she was mystified by the carnal grace. Her head shocked with pain, Byakugan kicking in again, tearing through everything. It all threaded together instantly. Three hundred and sixty degrees of two seconds ago. Then it burnt out and everything was blurs again.

Hinata realized that Naruto was no longer up, the shinobi clinging to a tree, hanging on by a thread of will, hand clutching his stomach. Entrails spilled out; slashed raggedly. Hinata's brain buzzed and hummed as she stood shakily, fighting her way across the clearing, watching the Shinobi die out of the corner of her eye, her mind was in too much chaos to form coherent words. All that came out were strangled questions.

"N-naruto? N-naru..." Her knee gave out again and she yelped, grasping her arm before the boy. She reached out her hand to touch his chest, searching. Where was his heart? She couldn't find it. No thrum, no steady pulse she'd heard a million times this mission, no flutter when he got excited, no drum when he was still. Red seeped out of his wounds, congealing around the handle of the sword, burning. His skin was pale, but his body felt like fire. Where was his heart?

"Naruto!" Her shout was choked as she threw her hands on him, still searching. The red burnt her hands. What? Questions burned her mind, searing. She should never have screamed, never. Then, maybe he wouldn't be... tears clouded everything and dripped onto his lifeless body, those blue eyes frozen open and skyward. No. No no no. She stared at him and her heart thrummed, blood rushing from her arm. She didn't know what to do, so she did the only thing she could.

"Byakugan!" Piercing, blinding pain. Her head screamed, or maybe it was her mouth. She couldn't tell. All she knew was that the pain had been instant, her eyes no longer seeing the moment they had engaged. She didn't have the strength to ask why as she collapsed foreword over him, the red still spilling from him like blood. Her eyes fluttered, numb and then, Hinata fell, his name still tickling her lips.

* * *

She didn't know how long she floated, lights popping like camera flashes past her. She was in deep water, but she wasn't wet; surrounded by bubbles that floated from her nose and throat, thick and rippling like honey. She watched them with shaded eyes, her mind still as death. Death...was she dead? Another bubble and she turned her had lazily to the side. She was tired, but she was still alive. A lock of indigo hair swayed on the waves, light penetrating her world from the surface. Her hand was ghostly pale as she reached out to touch the sphere, it dancing precariously close to her outstretched fingers. Light danced in her eyes, still flashing and flickering like static, reflected off of the incandescent surface of her former breath. She watched, mesmerized, clothes still flowing with invisible currents, held up and suspended within nothing. She watched, and then suddenly, the bubble popped and with its dissipation went the light.

And with the darkness came the thrust. She was still, and then rocketed upwards, spinning and whirling in unidentifiable hues and great glowing swirls of something. Violet, blue, red, and lavender chased each other through the fray as her eyes widened, still trying to take in the sights of her inner conscious, or at least what she thought was her inner conscious. The black around her began to melt away, creating a million pinpoints eaten up by the colors that were invading, still thrusting her foreword into what she didn't know. And as soon as it had begun, it stopped her, and she was once again floating.

Suddenly, water filled her lungs and she coughed and sputtered and gasped, choking and treading in the water she'd landed in, kicking to the surface. She fought for the air she could see, the sunlight creeping through the depths. Her hand reached up, and her head followed, breaking the surface of her dreams.

"AHH!" Hinata catapulted her head up, her chest heaving, eyes wide and lips dry. She blinked her eyes and trembled, unable to feel the dampness of her skin, only dry. Her eyes squeezed shut and then opened again as she stared at her perfectly normal hand from its position among the tangle of what appeared to be bed sheets. She lifted it, still in awe that it was intact and not covered in blood from her arm...

She immediately looked to the injury, but found nothing but the charcoal grey sleeve of a cotton shirt, and when she pushed it back there was nothing there, not even a scar. Her mind fought against the confusion.

"W-what?" Her words were mumbled in disbelief as she looked at the bed below her. Bed? When had she...? She took up a bit of the sheet, rubbing it through her fingers before lifting her head to stare at the room she was in. White walls and soft tan woods accented little pops of color here and there, a doorway to the right of the bed led to what appeared to be a tiled bathroom, simple and clean. It was a beautiful room, but unfamiliar. It was too simple to be her room at home, or any of the traditional homes she'd ever been in Konoha. It was too big to be Shino's or Kiba's houses either; too big and too clean. She whipped her head to the other side, seeing the broad window with fluttering curtains, cracked in the early dusk of the morning, letting in the smell of grass and wet earth.

"What?!" She exclaimed this time, untangling herself from the covers, only to get more entwined. She thrashed in some kind of mad hysteria and confusion and suddenly, found herself on the floor, knocking her head painfully on what appeared to be a bedside table. Something fell off with the force of the impact, crashing towards the floor and she heard the sound of shattering glass above her mad attempts to get the sheet off of her legs.

She panted her face flushed, and finally kicked free, knocking back into the table as she went backwards, it rattling loudly. As she hissed in pain, she rubbed the back of her head and looked at whatever had fallen: a picture frame, face down, glass sticking out from the thin trim of metal surrounding it. She stared at it for a very long time, too afraid to turn it over. Instead, she stared at the foreign wood floor and saw a scratch on her leg from where it had caught the edge of the low bed frame when she'd fallen in desperate means to escape. She'd never ever been in this room before, and it frightened her senseless. All at once, the scene at the clearing came flooding back and with it miles of confusion. Where was her injury? Where were the trees and twilight and smell of blood and death? Her head pounded sharply and she hissed again, rubbing the growing bump. She flexed her fingers, still consumed by the fact that she was able to move at all and then focused her attentions on the bed beside her.

Wherever she was she was safe at least, but that still didn't really help her situation, and that meant she needed to get out as soon as possible. 'Get out and...' all too quickly the sight of the boy with his eyes glazed and skyward in the dusty evening filled her memories, making her tremble with anxiety. If she was here, where was Naruto? Was he alright? Was he...was he alive? She shook her head and almost instantly tears began lacing her eyes. No. He wouldn't be alive. He'd been stabbed straight through the chest, his heart having stopped long before she reached his body. And it had all been her fault. She sank back against the nightstand, the bone-freezing sorrow and guilt taking over like a blanket of snow.

"It's all my fault! It's all my fault!" She whimpered, quiet sobs escaping her body. She couldn't shake the sight of the dead boy from her heart or her mind, the image plastered to her like wet paper. She took another rattling cry and buried her face in the sheet beside her, inhaling its unfamiliar scent with each gasping breath. Here she was, alone in a place she'd never been, probably far from home or captured, and the one boy she'd ever loved with every molecule of her heart was dead. Because of her.

She was so consumed with herself that Hinata didn't hear the low muffled sigh and groan issued from the bed. The bed that still held an occupant. She didn't see the shaggy head raise and blink in the sun before looking over to where she had been to find that the sheets were gone and so was she. The person rubbed their eyes and yawned before sitting up and crawling across the bed, peering over the side in a daze, stifling another great intake of air with a tan hand.

"Hina...what are you doing on the floor?" Hinata cried again, her own sobs drowning out the sound of the deep, rough and tumble voice. The figure's head tilted in confusion, slowly waking up and coming to find the girl in question crying on the floor. With a low moan of the mattress it lifted itself off of the bed and slid to the floor beside her, still watching in confusion. "Hina-chan? What on earth are you going on about...?"

Hinata's cries ceased as soon as the two hands came to either of her shoulders, rubbing gently through the fabric of her shirt, bringing her back to reality. She stared at her legs in silence as the rubbing continued. Was it her, or was the motion almost...soothing? Her head jerked up and her hair went flying...Wait. What? She looked to her left shoulder, seeing the heavy lock stick to her cheek and fall down her back. Her...hair...was...

"Long?" She said, still looking at the mane that was at least five inches longer than it had been when she'd been fighting in the clearing. Now it was well past her shoulders, collecting in blunt strands by her chest.

"Long? What do you mean?" Her face whipped around again, this time staring in the face the last person in the world she'd ever expected to see.

"What?" He looked at her with confusion, a somewhat unsure grin pulling at his lips. She was speechless. His hair was messily collected on his head, and it too was so much longer than ever: past his ears in golden spikes that made him look like the twin of the Fourth. Tan hands were still massaging her shoulder, although one of them had come to wipe the stray tears off of her face with a look of unhappiness. He was beautiful...

"Hina, why were you crying? Are you sad about the picture or something? We can always get a new frame..." His blue eyes flicked to the photo before picking it up gently and placing it on the side table, arm stretching, his head coming very close to hers. Hinata went red, and her brain spun out of control.

"That's the last time we have that much sake before bed..." He said smirking at her and raising his eyebrow. Hinata's mouth opened and closed, gaping like a fish's.

How? How could it be? She stared at him in utter shock. Not only was he _alive_ but he was...he was...

She tried to put her finger on it. He was different somehow, his chest was broader, his face a bit thinner, his body more filled out...

Oh my God. It was Naruto. A Naruto who was supposed to be dead. A Naruto who was pretty much kissing her. A Naruto who was at least three years older than she was, a Naruto who was...going on about sake before bed? Bed? Click. Click...click...her thoughts popped into place.

Holy. Shit.

She'd been in the same bed as NARUTO?! Somewhere in Hinata's brain a fuse caught flame and burned, and shortly following several things seemed to explode, everything frying like a malfunctioned circuit.

Hinata couldn't help it.

She screamed.

* * *

**End of Chapter 1!**

**Please Review before favoriting if you liked,** **I know this chap was a little confusing, but please bear with it for now!**

**xoxo,**

**spoons**


	2. Which leads to a very cold shower

**(Disc: This chapter is pretty funny…and I don't own Naruto. Dangit.)**

**Moonstruck**

"_Yes. Yes. I'm George, George McFly. I'm your density. I mean... your destiny."_

- Back to the Future

_Naruto could already tell that today was going to be strange_. Yep, from this point on things were only going to get weirder, no doubt about that.

If the fact that his ankles were being tied to his own bed was any indication, Naruto was pretty sure that Hinata had long since surpassed the 'average' fits woman sometimes through. His bright eyes watched her with depths of confusion as she tightened the uncomfortably complicated knot on his foot, binding him permanently to the bed and thus, helpless under her newly-hardened eyes. As she finished the act with finesse she rarely used except when feeling especially empowered, she stepped back and surveyed her work.

With eyes blazing a hells fury and hair as flyaway and crazy as if she'd stepped off the battlefield Hinata appeared like some kind of relentless Amazon warrior and not the demure beauty she usually was. No, this Hinata was very, very different than usual and Naruto was slowly drawing the conclusion that something was very off about the situation. Not counting the fact that he was being tied up, but also the events leading up to it.

He could admit he wasn't exactly 'savvy' when it came to woman, but when it came to Hinata he seemed to know what made her tick, a feat deemed 'a miracle' by many, but still valued highly.

He knew things about her that no one else would even dream up, so when he'd seen her crying on the floor in a tangle of sheets he thought it only one of her recurring nightmares come to knocking her literally off the bed. He'd _figured _comforting her would be smart.

Oh, how wrong he was. Turns out instead of melting into him in that feminine way that made his testosterone peak and his 'male protective' switch slam on, she opted for a much different approach. Screaming so loudly it made him tumble backwards, to then cause him to catch foot on discarded sheets and then catch a swift kick to his gut to be exact. Yeah, way off.

Hinata had then leapt from the floor and tackled him, and then somehow he'd ended up here on the bed, with his hands quickly falling asleep behind his back and his circulation being cut off at the ankle.

Now Naruto wasn't stupid. He didn't just _lie _there, no he protested quite violently, asking multiple times what seemed to be the matter with his Hinata, but all his rapid fire questions landed on deaf ears.

Now, Hinata was just staring at him with a psychotic look in her eyes, and before he could even blink a kunai appeared in her hand as if by magic.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN KEEPING THAT?!" He shouted, craning his neck off the bed. Hinata may have been bordering insanity, but that didn't subtract from the fact that she'd pulled a weapon from a hidden spot on her body, and with nothing but one of his old cotton shirts and those lacy boy shorts she wore for 'special occasions' it left a lot to the imagination on just _where _that spot had been. Hinata only hardened her eyes again and stepped aggressively towards her captive, twirling the knife through her fingers in a deceptively calm matter.

"Who are you?" Her voice was calm, quiet. But it held none of the adorable lilt or musical laughter Naruto had long ago fell so soundly for, but instead it took on a cloak of interrogation. Just what on earth was she planning on doing? What was this, an interview with an enemy nin?

"H-Hinata, what are you talking about? I'm Naruto!" He cried, but it was quickly followed by a sharp scream as she smoothly ripped his shirt into two neat sections down his chest. She flipped the knife calmly and Naruto gaped at his destroyed garment.

"M-MY SHIRT!"

"Answer truthfully or I'll break the skin next time" She said matter-of-factly. Naruto's face paled and he felt his mouth go dry.

"Hinata, what's wrong? Are you _OK_?"

"Answer my question!" He winced at her tone, demanding and aggressive and he could feel the  
steel on his pulse as she held the knife to his neck. He swallowed thickly.

"I don't know who told you this was foreplay, but Hinata, you're seriously freaking me out-" Hinata pressed the kunai harder, silencing the imposter's babble.

She was feeling hopelessly lost, but she couldn't let _him _see that. She had to get answers before killing him, and that meant pushing aside all the nervousness and confusion and letting the killer shine through. She tried not to make eye contact though; it was tearing her apart to see those blue eyes shining back at her with so much emotion. Whoever this was, they had done a great job at Naruto, but the fact made her angrier than anything else. How dare they mock him in this way? Mock her. He was the only person she'd ever allowed herself to be selfish about, and now he was dead and someone was here _pretending_ to be him. Preying on her like a stupid girl.  
Hinata knew she was always foolish, and she was always a coward, but she was no idiot.  
No, never an idiot.

So, she ignored his protests and pressed forward, even though her hand was shaking horribly. _'No, stop, wait'_ the little girl voice in her head was making her look at him as he continued to mumble explanations.

"W-wait a sec! Hinata, it's _me_! It's Naruto! If this is about your birthday or something..." She paused and drew back, unsure.

"Birthday?" She said softly, eyes probing. Naruto gulped and turned his eyes to the ceiling.

"Uh, well, you know...I, well I forgot...but Hinata, I've been so busy and, well, not to insult, but twenty two isn't exactly the 'important birthday' or anything..." She held her hands out in confusion.

"Wait, wait, what are you talking about?" He looked at her and his eyes were questioning as that deep and bubbly voice surfaced with a tiny amount of relief. For a second she could almost smile at him; the look on his face, the pure hope that maybe he'd get off the hook and she'd forgotten...whatever it was that he was going on about...was so incredibly Naruto that she could almost laugh. The tilt of his mouth, the little gleam of mischief in his eyes, the dandelion crop of hair...

Naruto watched in silence as Hinata's expression flickered from angry, to dream-like in a matter of seconds, a light little blush dusting her cheeks. Finally, something recognizable! He licked his lips and leaned his head off the mattress in hopes that he might awaken still Hinata from her stupor of crazy.

"Hinata, don't tell me you've forgotten your birthday? You just turned twenty-two last week.  
Shino threw you that party, and I forgot to get you something..." Hinata didn't hear the last part; she was far too concerned with the second sentence that tumbled from his mouth, hitting her head like a record player needle.  
_  
You just turned twenty-two last week._ WHAT?!

"No, no that's not right! I'm only seventeen!"

"HUH?!" It was Naruto's turn to be genuinely upset as she cut him off mid apology with the ridiculous statement. "What do you mean you're only seventeen?" She just stared at him.

"T-that's i-it. I-I'm going c-crazy. I-I must b-be under a g-genjutsu or something!" She cried, the kunai dropping lifelessly to the floor as she stared at him in disbelief. Naruto just stared back, his eyes wide.

"Genjutsu? What? No, no! Hinata, we're at _home_ in the _bedroom_."

"W-what?!" He shook his head from side to side.

"I must still be dreaming. We're at HOME. In the BEDROOM." She lunged forward towards him, her hands grasping the fragments of his shirt, fisting in it and pulling him upwards, their noses inches apart. Somewhere, a part of Hinata's heart was pounding out of control, but even that seemed overrode by the mass amounts of crazy that had since taken over.

"What are you saying I'm twenty-two?! I'm only seventeen, I passed out last night in a clearing and NARUTO was DEAD. Not alive!"

"Huh? But I'm right here! And last night you were HERE and we went through like, two bottles of SAKE! WHICH I MIGHT ADD IS THE LAST TIME BECAUSE YOU'VE GONE ABSOLUTELY PSYCHO!"

"I'm NOT EVEN LEGAL!"

* * *

At this exact moment, Hinata went forward just an inch more and in a folly of clumsiness tripped on her own foot, sending her sprawling over Naruto, her knee slamming into a very sensitive part of his anatomy. This caused him to emit a very severe sound and jerk foreword, his lips locking very firmly on hers. This made Hinata fist her hands even more into his shirt, ripping it again.

Which all occurred at the precise moment a certain Uchiha decided to remind his best friend that just because he was the Hokage did not mean he could sleep in.

Sasuke did not like doing favors for people, Uchihas just didn't do it, but when it came to Naruto he always ended up subjecting himself to all sorts of humiliating tasks. But what he was seeing right now, mid "Oi Dobe, " his hand not even having left the doorknob, was by far the most awkward situation he could have ever imagined.

It was easy to conclude what was going on, and maybe he _should _have stopped himself when that 'shriek' emitted from the other side of the door, but no. He was a man with a task and when it came to tasks and goals he never 'stopped'. No. He was going to wake up that idiot, dammit, and tell him to haul his hung-over ass to the tower to give him his next assignment and then toss Sakura a quickie before he left.

He was a man destined to revive an entire clan, an action that entailed a lot of thorough consistency.

Heirs didn't just _appear_ like they used to.

So he had opened the door with a bang to reveal a most curious of sights.  
Naruto tied to the bed with his shirt shredded, Hinata on top of him with her face a haze of red and tousled hair, her fingers tangled in the remains of his garment and her knee...and the groans...

Uchiha's didn't blush. It was somehow, in a freak mutation that accompanies complete bastardization, left out of the DNA encoding process early on. So Sasuke Uchiha was not _blushing_. Hell no. He was merely...intensely unsettled, causing adrenaline to open blood vessels in his body and flush his face a _slight _red. It didn't take long for Naruto to realize that the situation he was in was not _normal_.

"SASUKE!" He yelled, breaking away from the stone-stilled Hinata, (As soon as their lips had made contact all bodily functions had ceased and she was pronounced legally dead for at least the next five minutes) to stare wide eyed at the familiar intruder. Sasuke quickly averted his own eyes. NO. He had NOT been caught staring.

"My apologies." For once in his life, the Uchiha had managed to utter a clear statement unmarred by 'Hn's' or just unintelligible due to the mumbling he was always doing. He turned briskly around, hand still firmly on the doorknob only now with knuckles very white, and was just about to leave and forget everything he'd just seen when Naruto's shrieks once again made him pause.

"SASUKE I NEE- !" The Uchiha had whipped around again so fast that Naruto didn't even finish, only swallowed his cry and tried not to sweat his fear. Sasuke's eyes were a deep swirling crimson.

"Do. Not. Go. There." The man grit out the sentence and Naruto flushed scarlet.

"JUST WHO DO YOU THINK I AM, TEME?!" He sputtered, still unaware that Hinata still hadn't really taken a breath and that her face had gone from red to an alarming, yet somehow attractive color of purple. Sasuke cleared his throat and tried to turn around.

"I'll just- you know...go..."

"SASUKE, just give me like, one second to explain! It's not what you think it is, seriously, I mean, well It's not like Hinata and I don't well, you know..."

"NARUTO." Uchiha's don't blush, but all that adrenaline when you're friend is beginning to dive into his sex life does do things to a person.

"SHE TIED ME UP AND INTERROGATED ME LIKE A CRIMINAL! AND THEN SHE SAID SHE WAS ONLY SEVENTEEN AND THAT SHE DOSN'T REMEMBER HER BIRTHDAY LAST WEEK OR THE ONE BEFORE OR THE ONE BEFORE OR BEFORE OR BEFORE!"

Now _this_ was odd.

Over the past few years, Sasuke Uchiha had gotten to know the Hyuuga princess in ways he'd never even dreamt. For one, he actually talked to the woman on a daily basis because she seemed to be the only sane part of his relationships with Naruto. She was level headed, sweet-tempered and all around pleasant person. The exact opposite of the hog-tied, still knuckle-headed ninja splayed on his own bed. She was one that Sasuke tolerated only because he _had _to. Uchiha's don't really make female friends. They marry.

But when you're married to Sakura Haruno of all people, it's hard to imagine that the female gender is actually human and not some giant ball of raging energy and hormones half the time and then the seductive, sex-kitten type the next. Sasuke figured his relationships with Hinata were pure research, just in case Sakura decided to come down to planet Sasuke anytime soon.

And if there was anything Naruto wasn't, it was a liar. Sure he was stupid, idiotic maybe and annoying as bloody hell (especially now that he was surpassing everyone in a way that even made _Sasuke_ proud), he was always honest.

Hinata never forgot anything. She remembered the most minuscule of items, tiny details that had completely eluded Sasuke even though they'd been right in front of him.

Hell, he hadn't even _told_ her he liked tomatoes, and the fact was sworn to be a secret whenever Sakura found out it was way outside the lines of _'_j_ust my favorite food', _but there they were, sitting in the refrigerator of their sprawling house, just waiting.

So the fact that four years (that one with Hiashi was so hellish it doesn't even count) had simply 'disappeared' causing the usually super-tranquil woman to go completely crazy and tie up the person she'd loved for practically her whole life and known inside and out and better than anyone and understood in ways Sasuke couldn't even fathom, was really weird.

So weird that Sasuke actually decided to voice it.

"Are you serious?" And when Naruto nodded he looked directly at the beautiful woman who looked back at him with the eyes of a rabbit about to seriously get mauled by a bear.

"Hinata, do you really think you're only seventeen?" Naruto rolled his eyes.  
"Do you think I could have made that up?!" He shouted, only to be completely ignored.

Hinata didn't respond, but instead uttered a sound along the lines of 'EEP' followed by a yelp as she disintegrated on top of Naruto, completely unconscious. Sasuke didn't sigh, but he really felt like it. Couldn't he just have one normal day?

"TEME, DO SOMETHING!" Sasuke looked at the situation with tired eyes. He was only twenty-two himself, but good God this was getting old.  
_  
Sigh_.

In a few easy strides, Sasuke had gone to the bedside and gingerly scooped up the scantily clad woman, hauling her dead weight towards the bathroom before disappearing around the corner.

* * *

Hinata drifted. In and out, the waves pulsed around her and she curled in a tiny ball, floating. She didn't think about anything. Her mind was completely blank.

Internally, Hinata knew herself very well. Nothing could get her here. That's why she never got sick very often, she knew that if it was within her she would be able to beat it. But now it seemed she was _quite _sick. It wasn't everyday that one sees a Konoha missing nin in the bedroom of their best friend. A best friend who had only gone on that one silly little scroll mission to get away for a few days, to forget, occupy his time for a moment or two.

_And for what?_ _To try to save a silly little girl._

She tried to remember his smile, the way he lit up when they passed the scroll off to the elderly man, the way he had shaken out his hair when it'd rained on them that late evening.  
Even in death he had been beautiful, she supposed.  
Always beautiful, even when he was stained with red and pale streaks of light.  
_**  
**__But now..._

She tried to focus on the images of before; flickers of Naruto were so evident within the actors face. The whiskers, the way he'd briefly smiled at her. It was like every fantasy she'd ever dream pt had suddenly and literally come true, and frightened her beyond reason.

She blushed and put two fingers gently to her mouth, tracing.

He'd stolen her first kiss.

A tug of her lips. He'd tasted like warm weather and hot days and rain that steamed on rooftops in the summer.

The fingers gradually fell away, a new sight emerging, breathing life and color. A ripple cascaded through the stillness of her lake. Glassy eyes traced light on a murky horizon, growing, forming. She was entranced. Her hair wafted round her head in smooth purple strands, bubbles still leaking.  
_  
Mama!_

Hinata stared before her, into the depths.  
_  
Mama! Mama, look!_

He was short and chubby, his tiny hands reached up at her, a smile she couldn't help but recognize plastered to a face she'd seen a million times. _Her father's face. _Messy black hair every which way and that beautiful smile.  
_  
_His smile.

_Mama!_She reached her naked hand out, oh if she could only touch him, this angel. For a split second her hand distended through the water and into warm air, and just as she had treaded the pads over his smooth cheek he faded. But something was stirring deep in her, and she didn't know what. It was so strange, even though she'd never seen the child before in her life she _knew_ him. She knew him, and she...she loved him. Her heart had practically driven from her chest when she'd touched him, as though the very action was so right and perfect. She trembled. She didn't know, she didn't understand, but in other ways she did know.

Like something kind of made sense now.

Hinata didn't know if she was crying or not, for she was no longer in the water, but in a heavy fall of icy cold rain.

She was still shaking, processing the image.

Her eyes had stared back at her in that pretty face. Her eyes.

* * *

Hinata sputtered and coughed as the heavy spray of water from the shower blasted down on her.

She shrieked at the cold and reach blindly for the source, hands finding cold metal and twisting sharply. She panted, her shoulders heaving and blinked away the drops collecting on her eyelashes. Eyes were on her.

She didn't seem to be familiar with the bathtub, and though she'd secretly been hoping after all these scary visions and unexplainable events she might actually wake up where she was supposed to be, but fate seemed to deal her another card. She slowly turned her head over her shoulder, to be met by what she'd expected to see.

Naruto and Sasuke.

The former of the two looking hopelessly concerned, now wearing a new shirt, the other looking truly Sasuke-like, completely bored. She swallowed heavily and stood up, pushing past the two and dripping water on the tiles, walking to the wall length mirror.

Behind her she heard some kind of 'whispered' interaction.

"I told you we should have used warm water! She looks freezing!"

"It worked didn't it?"

Then the conversation dulled and Hinata ignored them, too fascinated with her image in the mirror.

She was not taller, but her hair was so long she barely could believe it. She lifted the strands up and blinked, then moved her gaze to the rest of her. Her face was pretty, beautiful even in a pale, shy way. Her eyes were still the same milky violet, her skin still flawlessly white and soft, if not a bit thinner.

And thank God her chest had finally gotten balanced with the rest of her. She closed her eyes and opened them again. The same. She took a deep, deep breath and looked at the two still bickering in the reflection.

It was really Naruto and Sasuke, in the flesh. There was no other explanation. Hinata was forced to swallow this pill and though it made absolutely no sense, she somehow managed to accept it. She was now five years ahead. How she got there was another story she couldn't even begin to answer, but for now she was waking up with Naruto and Sasuke was back to being himself.

And Hinata really was twenty-two years old. Five years had passed and she didn't even know where to begin.

Hinata had never been so scared in her entire life.

That was when Hinata finally noticed one tiny, little detail that had escaped her totally before.

A silver ring with a solitary diamond glittered on her finger. THE FINGER.

"No. No it can't be..." She mumbled staring at the evil, beautiful little piece of ring. The two stopped and stared at her.

"Hina-chan? You ok?" She turned around and faced him, dangling the ring in front of her like it was poison.

"We're m-m-m-m-"

"Married?" Hinata gaped at the ring and then back to Naruto who was smiling unsurely and Sasuke whose bored expression had peaked to one of slight interest.

"Just how much sake _did _I drink last night, Naruto?" She managed to stutter out before collapsing back against the counter top, her hand raking through her hair. Naruto smiled again, a little more.

"Uh, well, enough to make you...well, you know, crazy." She rubbed the bridge of her nose and moaned. He stopped smiling and his face turned to concern.

"Hinata? Are you ok? Do you want me to call Sakura or something?" Her head shot up. "SAKURA?!"

"Yeah..." She'd completely forgotten. There wasn't just Naruto and Sasuke. There was a whole village. A WHOLE VILLAGE. That had five years of something she didn't. Suddenly the whole

"Naruto" thing didn't seem that big anymore. What was 'big' was the Hyuuga clan and who was running it, and where everyone was and was everyone alive and..and...

Hinata was out of the bathroom in a flash and ran to the window she'd seen before, throwing open the curtains and peering out. The first thing she saw was...

"Oh My..."

"What? What is it? Do you remember?" She shook her head.

"Naruto...you're the _HOKAGE_?" She didn't get an answer, only a sad whimper.

"Hinata, I thought you'd at least remember _that_!"

Hinata backed away from the window displaying such alien images of a beautiful lawn and that towering monument with Naruto's stone face.  
Five years.

FIVE WHOLE YEARS.

Hinata was stuck in the future with no way out.  
Married to Naruto who was the Hokage.

And God only knew what else.

* * *

**Thanks to all my fans for the support of this story over the long time!  
I hope you enjoy this easier – to – read version and all the little edits  
I made that should really polish it up like I should have at the start //OTZ .**

**I can't believe I wrote this originally almost approximately a year ago!  
This chapter was written during Ike…we were out of power for 15 days. It sucked.**

**Please review before if you fave!**

**xoxo,  
Spoons**


	3. Which requires medical assistance

**(Disc: I do not own Naruto...yet…)**

**Moonstruck**

_"The future has a way of arriving unannounced."_

George Will

_Hinata's stomach was now located somewhere around her knees._ She didn't need Sakura to tell her that either, even though the woman was still examining her gingerly, her warm hands tilting her chin to look into her eyes with that funny looking instrument.

"Any loss or blurring of your vision?" Hinata's voice was lodged nicely in the very bottom of her throat, only surfacing as a weak whisper.

"No m-mam." Sakura raised a cotton candy eyebrow and took another sideways glance at Naruto who was pacing frantically outside the room. Sighing, she stepped back and looked at Hinata, concern lacing her features.

"Hinata, you don't have to call me mam. I'm only twenty-two for God sakes." Hinata, let her eyes dance to the floor, feeling rather embarrassed as Sakura turned around and rifled through some drawers and put away things on the counter. Hinata squeezed her hands together on the examination table and the pinkette continued with a tiny laugh, "So Naruto kept going on about you bumping your head this morning. You two must have been busy last night..." Hinata flushed fire red and blinked, still staring at the tiles, willing them to swallow them whole. Sakura turned around and noticed immediately, a coy smile gracing her features.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's just exaggerating about the whole memory loss thing...he's such an idiot." Sakura put her hand on Hinata's head, feeling everywhere until she'd found the ginger spot from that morning's escapades.

"So, tell me why you come in here so early for? You look absolutely fine." Hinata breathed heavily.

"S-sakura-san...I...I-I think t-that s-something i-is w-wrong with me..." Sakura stopped feeling Hinata's head and looked at the kunoichi severely.

"Hinata, I told you not to worry about _that_. It's just going to take _time_ for you two. It's not like it'll never happen. " She smiled warmly, "I'm sure Naruto understands perfectly that it's not your fault." Hinata's brow furrowed in confusion.

"W-what? A-am I s-sick? W-what isn't m-my fault?" Sakura's smile dropped.

"Hinata, why have you been stuttering so much? You grew out of that years ago. And what do you mean 'What'? You've been having trouble for the last year." Hinata felt swells of worry in her chest.

"T-trouble with w-what?!" She practically cried, as if maybe the secret could hold some kind of answer to the chaos she was in right now. Sakura stopped touching her altogether and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Ok. Just _what_ is going on here. Naruto calls me at ten in the morning when he should be at the tower going on about some kind of amnesia nonsense and then you show up looking perfectly normal."

"That's j-just it!" Hinata cried staring at the woman who had been so beautiful Hinata could barely talk to her, "I-I d-don't remember anything! I-I w-woke up twenty-two! J-just w-woke up five y-years older!"

Sakura stared at Hinata very carefully, a very, very long silence enveloping the two before Sakura finally spoke, weighing her words heavily.

"You mean to say that you woke up twenty two and went to bed seventeen? Is that really what you just told me?" Hinata flushed, but nodded her head shamefully.

"I k-know it s-sounds insane." She mumbled, wiping away a few tears, "B-but it's t-true. And I f-feel so overwhelmed..." Her words disintegrated into tears as she held her hand to her face. Meanwhile, Sakura's medic intuition was clearly telling her that this was _not _just a story.

The obvious distress of her patient, the reverting to old speech patterns, obvious unknowing of a very important issue that had been addressed only days ago. Sakura analyzed Hinata closely; her behavior was like that of patients when they just wake up from anesthesia. She kept looking at her hands, looking at Sakura, then just looking at her hands again, eyes wide and clouded.

"It's not insane. I've heard of some crazier things around here..." Hinata barely lifted her head, her hand dropping away to reveal eyes that were so frightened and so hopeless...eyes she'd seen in the turbulent, emotional years of Hinata's youth. It was like looking at Hinata at sixteen, her heart breaking slowly under pressures and pains from her family and untold wants and needs she'd never allowed herself. Sakura put a hand on her shoulder, "We'll figure it all out." She said softly and Hinata's lips trembled as more tears leaked anyway, brushed hastily with the back of her hands.

"T-thank you." She whispered in reply, but Sakura could hear the tones of not being totally convinced.

"I bet that idiot didn't even try to believe you, did he? He just let you run wild without even _trying_ to help! At least he brought you here, now we can actually do something!" Hinata blushed slightly and sniffed.

"I-I sort of t-thought h-he was an i-imposter." She said weakly, and Sakura looked at her sternly.

"Don't even think that way. _None _of this is your fault. _You_ are the victim here, and should have been treated with respect!" Hinata looked fearfully at the woman Sakura had become.

She was still petite, but she was just as fierce as ever with those beautiful pink tresses. She had traded her short locks for something a bit longer, resting just on her shoulders and halfway pulled back so that only a few bits touched her cheeks, framing the doll-like face. Her eyes were a flashing jade and they were very determined as she began moving about, pulling out files and forms. Hinata wondered how it was that one woman could make a simple white lab coat look so amazing.

"First things first, we'll need to get all the details of what you were doing _before_ all of this on paper. That way we may get some kind of answer. Then we'll start a few diagnostics, just to see how your brain is managing and if it's just temporary or not. Then we'll go see about finding an answer to how to get you right again. Oh!" She suddenly stopped and looked at Hinata with a great deal of sympathy, "You probably have no idea what's going on here, do you? Well, we'll fix that. I'll get Ino over here and she'll tell you everything about anything you want to know, sound ok? That way you won't be so lost." Hinata nodded weakly, feeling a little relieved for once.

Even if it was Ino, and even if the facts might just be warped a little, she could use some explanations.

"Y-yes. T-thank you."  
Sakura smiled warmly and felt as though she was playing mother hen to a very lost little girl.

"We'll get it all sorted out, I make a point that failure is no option!"This made the girl twitch with a smile and she nodded thankfully.

"Thank y-you." Sakura smiled and motioned for Hinata to get up off the table, and showed her to the door. Once it had opened, Naruto stared at them both, his expression hopeful. He strode briskly towards Hinata and crushed her in a hug. Hinata's heart was pounding through her chest, and her arms were stiffly held beside her as he nuzzled her neck, spreading the smell of sun warmed grass all throughout her body.

With his arms still around her, he looked up at Sakura, his frame still a good means taller than her, her head tucked right under his chin.

"Is she alright now? Does she remember?" Sakura rolled her eyes and used her clipboard to enthusiastically beat the man away from the statuesque woman. As he retreated, she put a protective arm in front of Hinata, guarding her.

"Naruto, this is no easy fix. She _honestly_ is not twenty-two. Just look at her and tell me she's who she was last night." Naruto looked worriedly at Hinata, walking a few steps closer. As he looked, Hinata's eyes stared into his, still blushing mad.

Sakura looked away as pain filled his expression, her own heart constricting painfully. Why was it always Naruto?

"Oh Hinata." He murmured, and for a moment his hand twitched towards her, but her eyes widened in surprise and she flushed again. The hand quit moving and Naruto put on a masking smile, "Don't worry Hinata, I won't let anything ever happen to you. I promised and I'm going to keep it. It doesn't matter how old you are, you're still Hinata." He looked at Sakura then, and Hinata saw a side of Naruto she'd never really seen before.

"If anything happens to her, I'll have your head Sakura-chan." His eyes slid from blue to crimson and Sakura only smiled, her eyes closing as she put her arm on Hinata's shoulder, turning them both around.

"Hai, Hai Hokage-sama. She'll be in good hands." Hinata looked briefly over her shoulder to see he was gone, only a flutter of air and nothing more.

* * *

For the next three hours Hinata was seated in a hard chair in Shikamaru Nara's office, recounting in heavy detail every last moment of her time before reaching this point. It was very emotional and several times she couldn't speak without crying, but a box of tissues was readily available and no one seemed to judge her otherwise. Sakura sat next to her, coaxing her along through the stories while Shikamaru questioned her with interest, obviously thinking deeply on the situation. After what seemed like ages, Hinata was finally done and Shikamaru was just thinking while Sakura inspected her fingernails.

"...You said the last thing you physically 'did' was activate your Byakugan, correct?" Hinata looked up from the tissue she was balling in her hands and nodded.

"Yes...I think i-it must h-have been a reflex." He agreed silently.

"Yes, yes...well..." he yawned and Sakura glared at him; he covered his mouth and swallowed the tiredness, looking at them both with lidded dark eyes, "...bloodline limits are tricky. Sadly, I don't have much experience in that field seeing as I'm not an Uchiha or a Hyuuga, or what not, but there's someone who's _very_ familiar with those..." He leaned back in his chair, pushing his hands behind his head and Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"You know how Hiashi treats Hinata." Shikamaru opened one eye and rolled it, and Hinata perked up a bit, hands clenching the tissue balled between them.

"Everyone knows _that_ woman. I _meant_ Kakashi."

He sat up and put a hand on the desk, standing up and stretching. "If anyone has something to add to this it's Kakashi. Didn't you say he could open that vortex thing or something? He should be an expert on weird by now." Sakura turned his words over.

"I suppose. But who says he's going to cooperate?" Shikamaru chuckled.

"Woman, you need to get out of the hospital more. Kakashi Hatake does two things now a days: drink sake and read. Naruto only makes him take one or two missions every month because he has gets stir crazy and causes him trouble." Sakura smiled warmly.

"That's Kakashi for you. Well, thank you, we'll get right on that." Shikamaru nodded, waving his hand casually as Sakura helped Hinata up from her seat. She looked at Shikamaru and then at the door. The boy hadn't really changed much; he was still the most intelligent person she knew, and by far the sleepiest. She smiled a little.

Maybe things weren't as different as she thought.

"Did you see that Hinata? Shikamaru was practically asleep." Hinata nodded shyly and walked closely to Sakura, who had traded her lab coat at the door and was now sporting a simple outfit of cherry red and beige. Hinata did not miss the large Uchiha symbol on her back, either, but somehow it seemed to fit. Hinata didn't bother to think about her own clothes or the white swirl that adorned them. In truth she'd been somewhat happy with her wardrobe of simple fabrics and sensible cuts. She'd always been a modest girl, and even now she seemed to hold herself in a reserved, but attractive way.

As for Shikamaru, he _had_ seemed rather sleepy, sleepier than usual. Sakura noticed her questioning gaze and laughed loudly.

"Shikamaru married a Suna kunoichi named Temari about three years ago. For a long time NO ONE thought they'd get married they fought so much, but now it's easy to see they've been _quite_ busy." Hinata blushed again at the last statement and Sakura chuckled lightly again. And here she'd thought Ino would always fall for the lazy ninja with a handsome smirk.

"A-and I-Ino-chan?" She asked out loud, on the subject of the Shika-Ino-Cho formation. Sakura smiled lightly and turned to Hinata, her eyes sparkling.

"She and Chouji have been engaged for years. Seems Ino just can't accept marriage. She says it makes her feel like an 'old maid'. Chouji seems perfectly fine with it seeing as they really don't have much eyes for anyone else but each other." Sakura put her hands behind her back as they walked, people passing and going into shops like they had five years ago. Only it seemed that a little bit of tiredness had disappeared from everyone's eyes, like everyone was relieved or had taken a good breath recently, like everyone had a reason to be happy.

"N-Naruto is a g-good Hokage." She said softly, remembering the protective way he'd stared at her, even though it was only Sakura. The girl smiled quietly, but Hinata could feel nothing but raw pride rolling off of her body.

"Hai...he's excellent. The best in all the ages they say." She turned to Hinata and tilted her head, "And no one is prouder than you." Hinata smiled a little.

'_Yes' _she thought _'I would be_'_. _

"On the subject of you and Naruto, I'm assuming you've already discovered your marital status, of course." Hinata nodded somberly, deflating just a little.

"Yes. I found out this morning after they turned the shower on me." Sakura stopped walking.

"What?" Hinata poked her fingers nervously together, feeling very much under the spot light.

"W-well, Naruto and S-s-s-s-s-s..." She found the name made her tongue thick. Sakura smirked.

"Sasuke."

"H-Hai. S-Sasuke-san used the shower to make me conscious again."

"Conscious? Did you faint? You haven't fainted in years." Hinata nodded again and Sakura began walking, sighing as she went.

"They're two of the biggest idiots in the world, no matter how old they get...to me at least." Hinata knew the kunoichi was just putting up a front though; her eyes were too happy to be sincere.  
Which made another question come to mind.

"Sakura-san, y-you and S-s-Sasuke-san..." Sakura blinked, coming out of her mind and tucked hair behind her head.

"Married for too long, which is really only two years. We also have a son, he's seventeen months, his name's Hatsuharu." She smiled and her eyes took on a dreamy quality.

"He looks just like Sasuke, and he's so smart..." She began to babble on about the boy and Hinata found herself smiling too as they walked. Sure, she was still rather rattled that Sakura and Sasuke had a child, but at the same time she could defiantly see that Sakura was probably the proudest mother in Konoha, although she probably was going to get strict as time went on.

Smiling until her name broke her out of her temporary happiness.

"Hinata-chan!" Hinata stopped, the hair on the back of her neck raising just a fraction. Sakura turned around with a short "Hmm?" and then her eyes softened.

"Ah, Neji. You look well."

"Arigatou, Sakura-san." Hinata's eyes were wide like dinner plates.

She'd forgotten her cousin. Her _cousin_. She rigidly turned around, but she was un-able to stop herself from looking because her fear was ebbing away and quickly becoming a frantic curiosity.

What she saw was quite startling, and Hinata's mouth fell open without much warning.  
She barely believed what she was seeing...

* * *

**Ah! A cliff-hanger!  
I am so devious!**

Please continue to read,  
and review!

**xoxo,  
Spoons**


	4. In which Hinata impersonates herself

**(Disc: If you haven't noticed by now...I don't own anything)**

**Moonstruck**

_"Prediction is very difficult, especially of the future."_

- Neils Bohr

_The first thing Hinata really registered was Neji's face._

And the smile that was glued to it. And not the smile he used at home to put her at ease, the smile that only pretended to be happy so maybe she'd have one less thing to worry about, but a true one that covered the smooth plains of his chin and cheeks.

Or what used to be smooth, for now it seemed a long jagged scar ran from his forehead to his chin, a deep slash she knew had taken more than only days to heal. It made his left eye droop sleepily, and his face was no longer so coldly aristocratic. It was warmer now, if not pleasant.

Neji had always had the face of a soldier, cold and impassive, but now with the scar he seemed an honored veteran who'd earned it as valiantly as she could ever have imagined. Other than the obvious blemish he was completely the same; his hair was still long and smooth; braided loosely behind his back to keep it away from his eyes and the bandages he still wore round his forehead to cover his seal. He was dressed in a lofty tunic belted at his waist and dark pants, various buckles and straps holding it together in a vague resemblance of his old ensemble. His eyes looked at her with a distant fondness; like she was the little sister of a very good friend. Only inches away from being his own, but still untouchable.

And for some odd reason, Hinata did not look away from him as she normally did but stared directly into him, searching for the ultimate change in him that she could see without eyes. More surprising still was that she could not have thought him any other way but this one.

He fit so perfectly, blending in around him with an ease she often tried to mimic, that she could not be as shocked as she'd really wanted to be. It was if the very corners of her brain had pulled him into thin air saying 'This is what he will look like, this is what he will be like. We know.' and it had come true.

"Chichi..." The voice was a whisper of violets on a field and Hinata's eyes were instantly pulled downwards at the sound, snapping her back to the present. It was a little boy looking at her very severely, tugging anxiously at Neji's sleeve and pointing at her as she stared.

Hyuga eyes and a stern little face looked back at her.

"Tetsuya, you should be silent when your Father is speaking." Hinata watched the odd display as Neji put a large hand on the boy's milk-chocolate hair, stroking so softly she might not have noticed the movement of his hands.

The boy's mouth closed and he stood, staring at Hinata, with those wide eyes, almost expectant in his stance. Neji pulled his eyes away from the boy, who looked so much like Neji it couldn't have been anyone but his son and back to Hinata.

"How are you Hinata? I feel like we haven't spoken for ages..." Hinata shuddered at the thought as Neji's eyes probed hers, his hand still on his son's head, and she just blinked.

"W-well..." She kept staring at the child who was staring back, a queer look passing over his sharp little features as he opened his mouth again.

"You're not my aunt." Sakura stopped smiling and stared at the boy, who couldn't have been older than four, and Neji stopped speaking to Hinata and looked down at his son severely.

"Tetsuya, that is no way to treat Hinata-hime. Do you hear? You are not to be so brash." The boy stared up at his Father indigently and then raised one pale little hand.

"That isn't Hinata-hime." Hinata stared at his accusing little finger and blushed scarlet. Had he really seen through her that easily? Neji gave another cold look to his son and bowed his head towards Hinata.

"My apologies Hinata, Tetsuya is at the age of speaking what's on his mind." If Hinata hadn't been so upset that she'd been found out by her four-year-old nephew, she might have seen the tiny look of affection that pulled at Neji's mouth. But she was upset and found it rather hard to focus on a coherent thought as those scrutinizing eyes questioned her as violently as his little cunning voice did.

"Who are you? Why do you look like my aunt? Where is she? Bring her back!" Sakura smiled sheepishly and stole a nervous look at the dumb-struck Hinata. She looked as if she were about to cry.

"Good grief...told off by a four-year-old..." she mumbled, putting a protective hand on her shoulder, attempting to wake her up from her stupor. Neji pinched Tetsuya's arm through his Chinese shirt and the boy yelped.

"That is enough Tetsuya. Your Mother and I will have to talk about this mouth of yours." The boy scowled and began to glare at the still quite frightened Hinata. Sakura ran a hand through her hair and bowed towards Neji briefly.

"Ah, It's quite alright. Hinata and I have an errand to run...maybe she can stop by later this week, she's been a little sick." She squeezed Hinata's shoulder sharply and Hinata gasped so loud she began to cough, air running every which way through her body.

The Hyuga prodigy nodded solemnly and gave Hinata a soft look.

"Yes. Hinata-hime should take better care of herself. She's looking rather pale." Sakura smiled and gave a happy wave goodbye as the two disappeared within the crowds of people and then began to drag Hinata away from the spot she was glued, still coughing like a crazy person.

She did not see the little boy look back at her with wide eyes, as if he'd known something she had not.

* * *

By the time they had reached the apartment building Hinata had gotten herself composed...slightly.

She was still frazzled and Sakura only shook her head as they climbed the stairs to Kakashi's flat, her heels clicking on the wood and Hinata's own shoes making soft steps. Hinata could not seem to shake that very violated feeling she'd received looking at the creature that was her nephew.

It was very discerning and Hinata could not help but feel like it was only the beginning of such a horrible sensation.

But for the present, Hinata had familiar butterflies at seeing the daring shinobi she remembered as Kakashi. The one who did as he pleased and went where the wind took him; who looked after people and himself like a friendly old man.

She was almost unhappy with her amount of faith that he could cure her, like it was a misinterpreted omen that she should be so eager.

"I-is Kakashi-sensei r-retired now?" Hinata questioned as they went up yet another flight of stairs. Sakura laughed and shook her head between chuckles.

"Oh no, no. Kakashi's just slowed down enough to actually _enjoy_ peace-times. He's seen so many battles he feels like the world needs time to catch up with Kakashi. No, he's just taking a well-deserved vacation right now." They got off at a landing and Hinata followed Sakura as they wound through the hallways, passing doors and people as they went; mostly shinobi men she hadn't really ever seen before, but were being _rather friendly._

"Ohayo, Hinata-hime!"

"How are you Hinata-hime?"

"Hinata-hime, tell your husband I need a raise!" They smiled broad grins and laughed lightly as they passed her, shedding compliments and sweet looks that had Sakura rolling her eyes.

"Naruto's barely been Hokage a year and they've got you on a pedestal...they think you're the sweetest thing to ever walk the earth." She said loud enough for an unsuspecting teenager to hear. He flashed a glance at Hinata and blushed, making Hinata dizzy with too much attention.

"Oh dear." She mumbled, almost running into the now stationary Sakura's back as they stood in front of a painted blue door.

"If one of them ever dared say that to me I'd knock them out so fast..." Sakura continued, and Hinata pressed her fingers together nervously.

"T-they s-seemed n-nice."

"Only because they know you're Husband would cut their heads off if they so much as looked at you wrong, Hinata." Both woman whirled around to see a very lax looking Kakashi standing behind them, looking not a day older than when Hinata had last seen him and still just as slick to have followed them silently along to his own door. He also seemed to be holding what looked like some groceries; a celery stick jutting from the top like a flag as they stood in the crowded little hall.

Sakura looked displeased and moved aside, allowing the seasoned man to unlock the door and Hinata only continued to blush perpetually (she seemed to be doing it so much she was surprised her nose hadn't started to bleed) and when the door swung open they all proceeded into the small, but clean apartment.

It was rather sparse, but furnished with very strange little knickknacks and oddities from all over the ninja countries, figurines and mismatched tables and chairs in corners and a large hand-woven wool rug sprawled out in the middle of the floor.

Hinata admired all of them silently, drinking in the deep hues and forms of each ones unique appearance before wandering after the other two into the kitchen where Sakura was complaining passionately about Sasuke to Kakashi who was putting away groceries with a lazy sort of grace.

"And then he tells me 'I'll be back at ten. _You _could have at least phoned to tell me you'd all three gone out drinking like a couple of idiots!" Hinata stood awkwardly in the midst of their conversation, feeling rather like a person left out of a very funny inside joke.

"I know you're not here to just talk, so why don't you tell me what you to are doing here when it's my reading day?" He said in a slow drawl, the lips beneath his mask moving slightly as he closed a last cupboard and faced the two kunoichi with looks of meager irritation. Sakura glared at her former sensei and then sighed, beckoning to Hinata who shuffled shyly forward and looked at the tiles of Kakashi's kitchen.

"Take a look and tell me what you see." Sakura said seriously, making Hinata lift her head and stare at the hypnotizing grey eye before letting her own pale ones dart back to the floor.

"I see a very embarrassed Hinata." He replied matter-of-factly, leaning against a counter with his arms crossed, still inspecting her,

"One I haven't seen in a while, might I add." Sakura sighed again.

"Exactly." Hinata looked at Sakura this time who was still staring at Kakashi, who was still staring at her, "She woke up this morning with no recollection of the past five years and a rather interesting story as to why." A slender silver eye brow moved in curiosity.

"Care to explain?" Sakura nodded and proceeded to retell the detailed occurrences, paying special attention to the location, time of day and what had happened to Naruto. After a few minutes Kakashi nodded and then stared at Hinata thoughtfully.

"You say you were using your Byakugan moments before this all happened, correct?" Hinata nodded shyly and Kakashi shrugged.

"I really don't know exactly, but if I had to bet chakra deprivation seems to be the culprit. It does strange things to bloodlines like Sharingan and Byakugan. If I had to explain it better, it would be like running a machine with no gas but the machine keeps going and doing what's told, making it malfunction and backfire. It's like the gears are moving, but they rub each other the wrong way and end up doing what they think is right but really isn't. Understand?"

Hinata nodded fearfully.

"Y-yes b-but t-that m-means..." Kakashi nodded.

"If what you're saying is true, and I believe it is, then the chances of you getting back to normal are unpredictable if not never going to happen. You may go back in a month you may in ten years. We have no way of telling if you'll even go back at all. Over all it seems as if you're Byakugan was pushed into 'seeing' too far ahead as result of stress and nothing left to keep it working properly. It was a violent reaction to keep you from dying."

"D-dying?" The word sounded strange. Hinata had never really been...dying before. She stopped shaking and stared at the spot beside Kakashi's left arm, just over his shoulder. Had she been so consumed with Naruto she hadn't even considered her own well being? She had been...dying.

"Of course Hinata. You were bleeding to death." Hinata didn't' turn when Hinata made the remark plainly.

"I-I guess I didn't n-notice." Hinata said again, looking up with a soft smile. "W-well, at least I-I'm surrounded by p-people I know." Sakura nodded surely, and even though Kakashi also agreed he wasn't completely convinced that Hinata was as at ease as she let on. There was a depth of sadness to her eyes that he couldn't get out of his mind. Sakura however, took the slight uplifted attitude and ran with it.

"Yes. That's right Hinata, you're surrounded people who still care about you regardless of your age. Sure, a lot of things might be different, and _yes_ you are married to Naruto, but you'll have nothing but support." Hinata let a little air out of her nose in a quiet laugh.

"Ah, thank you Sakura-san." Kakashi looked at her oddly and scratched his ear.

"If I were to guess, the twenty-two year old Hinata is in you somewhere. The longer you stay here, the easier things should become. I wouldn't be surprised if you started remembering things within the next month or so." Sakura smiled again, even wider.

"Here that Hinata? It's all going to get sorted out." Hinata nodded.

She wasn't unconvinced, but something told her that things ran deeper than anyone might have imagined them to be, and that in this process she may just lose herself entirely. She couldn't shake it, just like she still couldn't get Tetsuya's eyes out of her head.

The remainder of time was spent talking slowly, further evaluating at Kakashi's small table over tea. Mostly just little details taken into consideration, and also the reiteration of Naruto's state at the time.

"If he was dead then, why is he alive now?" Sakura had asked, leaning her hand on her shoulder. Kakashi had given and intelligent smile beneath his mask.

"Who knows. Any number of things may have occurred. For Hinata, this may be one of thousands of possible futures."

"Or maybe a possible past..." Sakura mused, biting the edge of her nail. Hinata was close to boiling over with information at this point and opted for a more tranquil state of twisting her glass between her hands.

She was trying not to think about anything in particular, but Naruto's face kept appearing every time.  
Naruto.

She sighed heavily and took a sip of her tea, an action that did not go unnoticed.

"It's getting late, Naruto should be home about now..." Kakashi said vaguely, looking at the clock and then at Hinata who did not really react, only paled a little more. Sakura stopped her thinking and sat up.

"Shit. I hadn't meant for us to stay so long Kakashi...great, now I'll have to work in Hinata's tests tomorrow..." Kakashi shrugged.

"No harm done. But as for your medical endeavors, it is my duty as Naruto's former sensei to make sure his property is kept in good state. I wouldn't do anything out of the ordinary if I were you. This all seems to be rather believable if you just talk to Hinata, and I'm sure Naruto won't want any further stress inflicted on her." He watched the look of gratitude cross Hinata's features at the prospect of some relief, and continued, smiling through his voice, "If I were Hinata I would stay inside all day and do nothing tomorrow." Sakura's face softened and she looked at Hinata's face which was now starting to protest.

"O-oh no I c-couldn't...I'm n-not used to doing n-nothing..."  
Sakura laughed.

"Consider it doctor's orders!" Hinata smiled, defeated, and tiredly sipped her tea.

It seemed she no longer had much say in just about anything at all anymore.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to get Naruto away for a bit? He's going to hound you something awful as soon as you walk in..." Hinata shook her head from side to side, standing in front of the foreign house with huge spreads of flowers covering the lawn. Sakura had been very accommodating in her endeavors to make Hinata's life easier thus far, but asking the Hokage to leave his house was just one thing Hinata would not allow.  
Sakura blinked and nodded soundly.

"Hai. If you need ANYTHING just call me. My numbers got to be in that house somewhere." Hinata nodded again, to weary to reply and watched the pink haired kunoichi walk down the path with a small wave. She followed the doctor with her eyes all the way down the road where the low walls met the main street. A figure was standing near a bench in the distance and as she approached she held out her arms.

Sasuke neatly passed a squirming boy to her.

Hinata felt the stir in her heart. Suddenly, the air smelled like milk and sugar and the breeze whispering through a tall cherry tree near the house corner sounded like laughter. She looked at the door to the house.  
The house shared with Naruto Uzumaki as of this morning.

Five years was such an awfully long time, but she had to begin somewhere.  
A light flickered on in the bedroom she recognized from this morning.

Beat. Beat. Thump. Thump. THUMP. Her heart was beginning to hammer.

Five years, starting with one night alone with the one person she'd loved for a million years.

She thought of all the questions she'd patiently saved in her head. There were hundreds of them, and she'd saved them all for now.

"I'm horrible." She whispered to the quiet dusk, "I'm so selfish to ask so much of him now. It's like taking advantage..." It was true. She was being horribly selfish because with the realization of her death came the realization that Naruto was _hers_ in this place. She would get to be alone with him, talk with him, maybe even... she blushed.

"Don't even think about that!" She reprimanded herself, dispelling the image of Naruto without his shirt, beneath her body. In truth she wanted him to make everything alright, to make everything better, and answer all her questions. She may be so nervous she might faint, but she would try. She would try very hard and make the feeling last. (ha-ha...Hinata is allowed to be seventeen, isn't she?)

She was never going to forget anything after this.

She would die again before she forgot what it was like being married to Naruto Uzumaki.

And she was going to get the story from his mouth, no one else's.

He would tell her about them.

She would start tonight with easy things and build up.

She was not going to rush this like a silly little girl, oh no.

She was going to make it last, even if it killed her.

And her reason behind this sudden change of attitude in an otherwise hopelessly cowardice heroin?

Simple:  
If this was just Hinata's body's way of keeping her alive then she damned sure deserved payment for all the trouble.

A happy ending seemed to cover all the cost, plus the interest of losing an arm.

If Hinata was stuck, she was not going to suffer.

* * *

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	5. Which requires hot tea

**(Disc: If I owned Naruto I would...change things...kuku...)**

**Moonstruck**

_"How can you look at me like you haven't seen me every day for the past thirteen years?"_

- The Family Man

_For the first time that day, Hinata actually got to appreciate something._ She wasn't one for material things, but this house was beautiful. The front door was unlocked and she was greeted inside by a welcoming rug and a several potted flowers, their colors bursting in the traditional neutral pallet of the rooms. She had removed her shoes and taken a pair of slippers that must have been her own from the spot in the corner and stepped up into the house with a feeling of horrible apprehension.

"N-Naruto?" She called out hoarsely, holding her arms around herself protectively as she stood in the middle of the open living room. She felt like an intruding stranger standing on the glossy wood floors, feeling to awkward to sit on the tan couch or even turn on the switch that led to a hanging teal lantern. So strange it felt to stand in that room.

"Gimme five minutes..." She heard his voice appear to her right and turned slowly to face him; he was leaning out of the door to the bedroom, a tired smile on his face as he spoke, "I hate wearing work clothes around the house."

She let her eyes wander over his long Hokage's robes. Red and white, flames accenting the bottom as she'd seen a million times.

She nodded.

"Ah...t-that's fine." He grinned again and disappeared into the room, the door sliding shut.

"Just cut loose, Hina-chan...it is your house after all!" She heard his muffled voice again through the door and blushed. Yes. Her house. She looked around her and wandered through another doorway, coming to a bright kitchen.

"Tea." She mumbled, walking to the counters and perusing the stove. A little kettle stood soundly on the burner, just as she must have left it a million times. She picked it up gingerly, its weight a comfort in her hands and slid towards the sink.

Before long her task was over, and also her feelings of being involved with the house, and she could only stand and watch the water boil, then brew tea, then pour it in steaming mugs she'd found in some obscure cabinet above her head.

She had been so consumed with her task that the ticking of the clock on the wall barely registered with her, and it was far longer than five minutes later that Naruto came ambling in, stretching his tan arms above his head liberally. She fought every nerve to not watch him as he sat down cross-legged on the floor, leaning his hands on the table in front of him and stared at a vase of flowers in its center.

"Ah...c-careful. It's s-still h-hot." She mumbled, setting the mug down before him, disrupting his thoughts momentarily to stare through the wafts of steam and at her pink face. She held her own mug tightly in her hands, twisting it when she sat down across from him, staring at the wood instead of him.

He frowned a little, but was also somewhat comforted. He may have been a few years ahead of her, but Hinata was still definitely  
Hinata.

It was comically evident in the little mannerisms that were untouched by time or space; the way she twisted her mug for instance, or the way he knew she was curling and uncurling her toes under the table.

"I heard you talked with Kakashi today. Did you find out anything?" Hinata raised her eyes to the man before her.

He was desperate for information; she could see it in his face. Naruto always was rather open about his dislike for being out of the loop, a fact she was happy to see hadn't changed.

"I-in a manner of s-speaking, I am s-stuck h-here." She stuttered, trying to keep eye contact with him as she spoke. His face fell severely.

"Stuck?" Hinata felt panic set in as she realized what she had said.

"Oh no, no! I-its n-not that I'm unhappy, it's j-just, well, I d-don't h-have a way o-out you see..." She stopped her rambling apology as his whiskers stretched back to allow a large grin.

"Good. I was worried you were...especially after this morning." Hinata blushed heavily.

"I'm so sorry I did that to you. I should have listened to you and not jumped to such an irrational conclusion." Naruto shrugged and through her hair she saw him rest his head again on his fist and sip his tea, eyes closing in satisfaction.

"Oooh...I'm so glad you remember how to cook!" He exclaimed passionately, taking another long draught. She had to laugh at his exuberance and when she did he stopped drinking and smiled.

"So glad I get to hear that too, though I get the feeling I'm going to be missing it a lot." She stopped laughing and he stopped smiling and they just stared at each other for an immeasurable moment of time before Naruto reached forward and began fiddling with a loose petal from the vase, Hinata twisting her mug.

She swallowed thickly, holding her breath, gathering her courage. She had made him upset, she could see. No doubt the sadness in the corners of his eyes and mouth were for her alone, a fact she couldn't bear to think about. So she decided that for tonight she might at least ask one question that had been brewing heavily in her head all day.

"N-Naruto?"

"Hmm?" He lifted his head and gazed at her expectantly. She took a deep breath and looked down into the depths of her tea, ripples appearing as she moved the cup in little smooth curves.

"H-how did we...I m-mean...how did it all..." She was blushing darkly; she could feel it as she tried out the horrible question. She looked up at Naruto, pleading for help.

"How did we meet?"

She nodded pathetically.

"Ah, y-yes."

He smiled widely and the happiness in her eyes at her interest sparked a dull thrum of her heart she hadn't expected. He scratched his head, letting his fingers comb through his heavy gold spikes and thought, looking at the wall with a small smile.

"Oh yeah, that's right," began, but his face was rather sheepish as he looked at her, "I ruined your flowers."

* * *

**Thank you for all your reviews,  
especially to Arashi-san who  
always made me smile with his  
speculations!**

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	6. In which an accident occurs

**(Disc: Same as usual)**

**Moonstruck**

_''I-I'm not - I'm not very good at - at, you know... "  
" Constructing sentences? "_

_-_ Sliding Doors

_"DAMN DOG!" if there was one thing on the planet that Naruto hated about being 'that nice boy' it was the fact he was exploited by a Mrs. Yuzumari on a monthly basis. _

Once a month, Mrs. Yuzumari left the house unattended and 'Chi-chan' the obnoxious Pomeranian he'd come to so passionately hate, escaped through her kitchen door and ended up in the most inconvenient of places. There were shinobi by the dozens that she could have selected to retrieve said dog, but no. Naruto was 'the nice boy' : the one who weeded her garden for small change when he was a kid and painted a fence for her once when he was fourteen. Now, at eighteen and a half he was chasing her dog at a heavy sprint through the city, tripping over toppled carts and knocking people down in a mad attempt to catch him.

Most of the time he caused enough chaos for six of Kakashi's hounds, rushing into stores and under carts, flying into heaps of displays and knocking fruit all over the road. Once he'd even managed all the way down to the Uchiha district, tearing through old abandoned buildings until Naruto had finally lost his energy and called Sasuke to come help him. Needless to say, the Uchiha had not been very 'happy'. And who could forget the time he ran to the tower? The whole place had been up in arms until Tsunade had come storming out of her office, holding the shrieking dog by the scruff of its puffy neck with eyes that were ready to dissolve off Naruto's face.

"I'm going to kill that mutt!" Naruto cried, leaping over a crate of chickens and dashing further into the village. He was a jounin for Kami's sake, months away from being in ANBU, he should at least be able to catch a stupid dog!

But there was just one problem.  
This time, Chi had taken a turn for the worst possible place Naruto could ever be expected to go running into head first:

The formidable, sprawling, Hyuuga compound.

* * *

Hinata loved flowers. There was something about having them grow before her eyes as plucky little seedlings to tall and graceful blooms that made her smile and feel giddy inside, a feeling hardly found at home. After all, potential heiresses were not allowed to be 'giddy'.

So when she'd come across the half-abandoned scrap of garden where her Grandmother had once tended lush swaths of greenery, Hinata was only too eager to overtake the project left behind. Thus, she'd secretly begun rejuvenating the little plot, nursing it back into life over many springs and a half of her summer. She couldn't begin to count the number of times she'd killed something: sometimes she was so desperate for them to grow she over-fed and over-watered them.  
Unlike cooking, gardening had not come naturally and she'd sweat out many a frustration on her knees, caked in dirt and fertilizer. Not to mention the bee stings, although Shino had provided more than enough help with that; she wasn't entirely sure what he'd done exactly, but within a day the bees only buzzed around sleepily, not even bothering to look her way.

Now, finally, after weeks of failures and practice and research she had done it: She'd planted irises, and they'd rooted.

Irises were her favorites: they were ruffled and full and beautiful and came in enough colors to keep her forever satisfied. They were her children of sorts and she'd labored intensely for the weak, but determined blooms that had wrestled their ways up despite her lack of talent. They were perfect, though a little small, and though they were dwarfed by other flowers she'd planted and not quite as vibrant they were hers and she'd stop at nothing to see them continue to grow.

But for Hinata Hyuuga, life never turned out exactly as she planned, and this time was no exception at all.

She'd retreated to the house for only a second. Only a second.  
She'd only just celebrated the small victory over something as silly as irises. Maybe she'd been too proud.

She was humming one of the old songs her Mother used to sing with words that didn't rhyme and tunes that lilted and slid and talked of love and war and nights and stars.

She rounded the bend to her garden, though pathetic it was, and opened her eyes to see the apparent joy.

And the gleaming new spade dropped from her hand.

Naruto Uzumaki was wrestling on the ground...with a dog?  
Yes. The small puff of snarling, snapping fur was...a dog.

"YOU BASTARD! NEXT TIME I'LL TIE YOUR LEGS TOGETHER AND DROP YOU IN THE RIVER!"

And they were...

"M-m-my..." Hinata couldn't find the words as she stared at the horribly crippled bodies, the carnage and destruction.  
Her garden was ruined, all her irises uprooted in mounds of dirt and severed petal-limbs.

No battlefield had ever seen such horrors; and in the center, now stuffing the dog triumphantly into a netted bag, was none other than Naruto.

Moments passed, and Hinata was still speechless. How? Oh, how? She had only turned her back for a _second, _just a second to get the brand new spade from her bedroom, hidden under her best kimonos in the armoire.

Finally Naruto looked up, satisfied and gleaming with sweat and smears of dirt.  
Coming face to face with Hinata.

* * *

Hinata tried not to look self-conscious as she sat on the stool at Ichiraku's, sliding her chopsticks in and out of the paper. She didn't go out very often, in fact now she hardly left the compound due to etiquette and diplomacy lessons not to mention mounds of clan history and the endless ceremonies she had to attend just to be considered Hyuuga leader material.

And now she was sitting at the ramen stand with Naruto, watching people pass by in crowds of lantern-hazed chatter.

The blonde boy looked at her guiltily: maybe ramen wasn't going to be enough this time.

"I'm really sorry about those flowers Hinata. I figured they were just one of your uptight relatives, so..." Hinata smiled weakly.  
"It's ok. T-they weren't going to s-survive long anyway." She said, resuming her movements with the chopsticks and their paper wrapper. Naruto looked sheepish and then stared at the counter for a few minutes before flashing another look at the clearly still-upset girl.

Why did his stomach feel like lead? He really wasn't very used to making girls unhappy, or well, maybe it was just the sincere and honestly sad way Hinata was acting that got to him. Normally with Sakura she just punched him and got it over with, but Hinata was so quiet and she kept smiling at him like everything was ok, but it wasn't.

He didn't like it. Not one bit.

"I'm going to make it up to you." Hinata looked up from her chopsticks and stared at the young man. He was reading straight into her eyes. "I'm going to do anything you say to make it up. I'll plant anything, I'll take you out for ramen. You worked really hard on that garden and it was really important to you, so I'm going to make sure I make everything right." He left out the fact that seeing her face so pitifully sad made his insides twist up in a knot. She stared at him in awe and then looked down at her hands, flushing.

"Y-you don't have to d-do that much." She whispered, curling her fingers around the chopsticks, "I'd n-never ask s-so much f-from you. I know you're b-busy Naruto-kun..." Naruto shook his head.

"None of that. I'll make time Hinata-chan. I promise." She blushed heavier and swallowed, curling her hands even tighter.  
She could feel him watching her with those eyes of his, peering deep down into her heart.

"I-I..." she tried to form a coherent thought, but only raised her head slightly, "T-thank y-you." She mumbled, and he smiled that heart breaker smile, about to reply before the bowls were sent down the counter by the sweet looking girl to the right and Naruto was of course hopelessly distracted.

Naruto could clearly see her in his head, blushing mad and a mass of silly stutters and cute, shy words. Clusters of dirt caked to his hands as he'd toiled passionately over that little garden, and in the end only able to manage a few sturdy buds. He remembered the way she'd stared at him in utter disbelief when he'd sat amidst the wreckage with the squirming dog, the long and shouted apology he'd delivered as she'd started to tear up.

The way she'd looked at him despite her sadness, as if he could never truly do any wrong to her.

The way his words never came out just right after that, the way they ran together a lot and he found he just kept talking about nothing. And she was so patient to listen. He'd never had that before: unending amounts of just listening.

But he'd never seen her so happy and he'd never talked to the Hyuuga so much as he had over that little scrap of earth.  
And once he'd finished, he'd found out that he really hadn't meant to let it all go so soon... but that was a story for another day maybe. He didn't want to freak her out too much after all she'd been through today.

His blue eyes shifted from the past to the present and lay themselves over to the other end of the table, expecting to say something to her.

But the words stopped halfway.

She was folded over the table, arms curled under her head.  
She breathed deeply in and out, a faint smile spread out over her pretty face.

Naruto's heart melted at the cuteness.

"Hinata," He laughed, standing up and stretching, "You'll be the death of me, sweetheart." The words hung in the air heavily. Naruto stopped stretching and returned his eyes to the sleeping girl.  
He realized slowly that his wife really wasn't in the room anymore.

He got up and rummaged through the linen closet, walking back slowly to drape it over her back and remove the mug from her hands gently.

Naruto stared at her for a very long time, trying to figure out why everything had happened the way it did.

"I'll take care of you Hina-chan. I promised."

He whispered and turned off the light to the kitchen, disappearing into the dark.

**

* * *

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	7. Which Hinata finds quite emotional

**(Disc: is not worth the trouble.)**

**Moonstruck**

_"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity."_

- Gilda Radner

_It was him. _Hinata knew it was, even though she barely recognized him. He was smiling at her. Maybe that's what gave him away.

He was smiling so big, and his arms were held lazily on the table. He must have been sixteen or so, and very handsome with that same black-brown hair and eyes so identical to her own. '_My mother's eyes...'_ But at the same time she didn't look like her. He looked like her Father. But something else...his smile was so distinctly...the way his hair was so messy...his posture...  
_  
"You can't stay mad, can you?"_

Why was she smiling hopelessly now? Like she really couldn't?

She didn't even know what he'd done, but at the same time, she did.

She reached her hand out, ruffling his hair.

_"You silly boy..." _

* * *

Hinata woke up with a start, her head coming up off the table with a lurch. Her words still hung in her mouth, only now everything else had evaporated from her mind, leaving a haze of confusion in its wake.

"W-what?" She said hoarsely, staring around the room.

Oh. That's right. She was sitting at the table, covered in a brown blanket, her legs aching something awful and her hands tingling from holding her head so long. She rubbed her eyes tiredly, blinking them open and looking around the room once more. Last night she'd been too tired to really take anything in, but now she could see it was a small and tidy kitchen with little touches of her and Naruto so easily missed now screaming out at her like beacons.

They were little things, and if she hadn't been in the situation she was in she probably would have chosen to ignore them: but they were there alright. Things like the empty bowls in the sink and the frog-shaped clock on the window sill. Things that felt like they belonged there, much unlike Hinata.

Her eye caught sight of sea green drapes fluttering in the breeze and the sound of a paper falling to the floor from the door of the refrigerator. She watched it descend to the ground and stared at it cautiously before standing. Cringing at the stiffness of her legs she walked slowly towards the note, bending down and picking it up gingerly.

It was written on plain white stationary, scrawled in a messy, hurried hand.

_Be back around five...  
food in fridge...and...I know I'm forgetting  
something...  
Never mind!_

_Naruto_

Hinata stared at the small happy face with whiskers at the bottom and felt rather embarrassed by it all.  
In a weird way she felt like she was almost cheating on Naruto with herself.

Sighing, Hinata walked across the kitchen, folding the note into her pocket, and stood at the patio door.

Potted plants covered every possible space in the garden; she saw vegetables and flowers and vines hanging green tendrils from a lattice propped against a wall. In the farthest corner she saw the terracotta pot containing the tall slender flowers standing in the sun.

"Goodness..." She mumbled, stepping backwards, tripping over a house shoe that had been hastily discarded by Naruto as he ran out the door. She picked it up and placed it besides her own, looking in wonder at the two pairs of slippers; one much bigger than the other. Shaking out her hair she hugged herself and stared about the house. It was tidy; comfortably cluttered with little odds and ends. She was surprised to find so many curios adorning shelves and bookcases, obviously souvenirs from far off excursions.

The study she'd wandered into was small with beige floors and paneled walls. The drapes were pulled shut and when she opened them, the low desk and mounds of official paper work made themselves known. Hinata looked around the room awkwardly.

Naruto's study was surprisingly neat.

She walked past rows of diplomacy books and even one on etiquette, books of shinobi law, and several others that were kept in Naruto's private collections.

"The Gutsy Ninja?" Hinata said softly, pausing next to a particular book that had caught her attention. It was plain, nondescript and bound carefully. The title was odd and she had pulled it out of its nook before she had realized it. It was light in her hand and smelled like pipe tobacco.

She carefully slipped a finger into it, the covers falling open in front of her.

"For A Student - Don't let them tell you you can't. Jiraiya...Jiraiya- sensei?" Hinata stared at the printed words and gently closed the book, sliding it back into its place. For some reason, as soon as she'd opened her mouth she'd felt like she had intruded on something horribly intimate; something she shouldn't have seen. Stepping back from the bookcase Hinata took one final look around the shelves and one large book caught her attention.

It was covered in brown linen with the word 'Days' inked carefully on the side.

In refined, but still obvious form of her handwriting.

Hinata felt a stone descend in her stomach but pushed back her apprehension and reached eagerly for the book, pulling it quickly from its spot, letting the heavy object rest in her arms. She went to the low desk and sat down, brushing the long hair out of her face, and laid the book gingerly in her lap. For an immeasurable moment her hands traced the covers, falling over the lettering and the soft corners worn with use.

All at once she mustered her courage and carefully opened the book.

It was an album.

"Oh..." She whispered, eyes dancing as she stared at the first page of Polaroid's. Hinata knew subconsciously she would come across bits and pieces that would be emotional, but never, never had she expected this.

No, never this.

Her shaking hands went out, disbelieving she was seeing photographic evidence of this. Of _this. _This life.

The pictures were well taken, but to Hinata they were beautiful, incomparable, the most wonderful thing she'd ever seen.

They were...

"Us." She said softly, tracing the figures in each photograph. Hinata was crying, not out of sadness, but the feeling of nostalgia that washed over her. The unthinkable feeling of seeing something you'd wanted to see after a very long time. Recovered pictures after a fire or a flood.

The first page was four pictures, each within their own quadrant as different as the seasons. Though she couldn't have told you when or how, Hinata knew those photographs. They had been engraved in her mind a long time ago; a horrible case of déjà vu.

A tear landed on the first one and she quickly wiped it off, hastily brushing away the others. Her thumb lingered over Naruto's form, stroking gently. He was sitting on the floor, but not any she'd seen in the house, putting on his boots.  
Just his boots, just him smiling down at the straps, pulling them on in his mission clothes, weapons scattered round him. Completely unaware the photograph was being taken.

_"Please bring him home safely."_That was the caption underneath. Hinata felt warmth flood her heart.

_"Please give me another rainy day this month." _Hinata stared at her own image on the page, sitting in the bathtub with a book. She was smiling too, a wide grin that looked cheeky and cute.  
She'd never been like _that_ before.

She frantically turned more pages, photographs of Naruto flying by, herself, Sakura and Sasuke, Ino - Sai - Kiba. Parties, and get together's, one that must have been girls night out, another where almost every Konoha boy she knew were holding up team posters in blue or red, sashes tied round their heads, war paint on their faces. Even one of Gaara himself seated on the very same couch with Naruto, the one in the living room, both dressed so casually you might have thought them civilians. That one had no wish written below it, only a crude little smiley face and _'Diplomats at work'_ put underneath. But the rest all had some small plea in the white of each Polaroid.

_"Please let Neji be glad more often." _Besides a picture of her cousin sitting at her very own kitchen table with Tenten, both of them holding coffee mugs.  
_  
"Please let them heal quickly." _Naruto, smiling up at her from a hospital bed, Sasuke beside him with a deck of cards spread in their hands. Sasuke's arm was in a sling.  
_  
"Please help Sakura find time." _Sakura holding a baby, with a jet black mop on his head and coal eyes, on her hip, his hand fisting a piece of pink and Sakura grinning into a telephone, making a peace sign.

Naruto holding a little boy with black brown hair on his lap, a kunai held in Naruto's rough hands, the child staring in awe at the metal knife as Naruto presented it.

_**"Please make us a family."**_

This was no ordinary album. No, it was a book of prayers. They were small, and sometimes silly, but they were penned with so much heart and love that Hinata could only marvel. Especially that last one. It stirred her heart in a way she didn't completely understand.

Hinata stared at the little boy, who must have been Tetsuya, until it flickered, like static. An image replaced. White eyes staring at her.

She dropped the book like she'd been burned, shooting backwards with a gasp. Hinata felt her head spinning and touched her forehead. She felt sick, and dizzy and other fluish symptoms.

Standing shakily she made her way to the nearest bathroom, slamming into a wall as she went. She almost didn't make in time as she emptied her stomach into the toilet, wiping her mouth and trembling.

Then, as soon as it had happened, she felt better. Much better. She looked around the bathroom and rubbed her eyes, water clung to the fingers.

She panted slightly, leaning back against the edge of the tub before standing up and turning on the shower.

She wanted wash those eyes out of her head.

* * *

Hinata was dripping wet as she stood in front of the door to the bedroom. Her toes uncurled and curled, weight shifting nervously onto each foot. She was not going to stare at the bed.

She wasn't. Simply...wasn't.

She went a little red as she looked at the tangles of sheets and a blanket half hanging off one side. Naruto must have forgotten to make it on his way out. Hinata held the towel firmly. She just needed some clothes. JUST CLOTHES.

She was not going to go into the bathroom and snoop. She was not going to...

WHY did the room have to smell like him? She wasn't even in the room and the scent had hit her. It was impossible to concentrate with that smell all around.

"J-just some clothes." She repeated out loud.

"Just clothes. My clothes. They belong to me..." She took a tentative step into the room. "M-my room." She said. "M-my house. Naruto said so...Naruto. NARUTO'S ROOM!" She squeaked, her face going horribly red, her eyes squeezing shut.

"Mine...and Naruto's...house..." The words gritted from her teeth and she sighed in exasperation, deflated.

"I'm never going to get through this!" She moaned, holding her hands out as she felt around the room blindly. Once she reached the closet she opened her eyes again, and then it was only to determine that this was getting horribly impossible.

She'd opened the wrong side.

Inside was a messy array of clothing, all of it Naruto's. Smelling like Naruto. LOOKING like Naruto...ORANGE AND BLACK AND...!  
SLAM.

Hinata shut the door and then moved her hand to the other side, pulling it open so fast it scared her. This time it was thankfully her own wardrobe and with trembling fingers she reached out and selected something suitable and retreated from the room like lightening, the door crashing behind her.

* * *

After the frightening encounter with the master bedroom, Hinata found herself confined mentally to the living room and kitchen.

There, at the little table from last night Hinata ate a cold salad and left over's, too exhausted to care very much at how good it was.

She felt horrible. Every few minutes her head pounded and she knew if she ate anything more she was probably going to throw up again. She must have been getting the flu.

But the feelings eventually passed and Hinata was left feeling out of place again. So she did the thing she always did to clear her head.

She cleaned.

Hinata also began to realize that her logic from the past carried over into the future, because it was getting really easy to find things like cleaning supplies or hair bands and even some pain reliever. She seemed to organize things the same way, so Hinata just followed her intuition when she needed to locate a sponge or some bleach.

The kitchen had been the first. She took everything out of the refrigerator and scrubbed it till it shone, scoured the stove and bleached the sink pearly white before moving to the floors. She moved the table effortlessly and swept everything out onto the patio where she was momentarily distracted by wiping dirt off of pots. For the next three hours she turned the house upside down and then put it back again, making sure to steer clear of the study and the master suite, those seemed off limits no matter how many times she tried to tell herself they weren't.

By the time five o'clock rolled around, Hinata had completely and totally forgotten about Naruto's note, and when the man came in, Hinata was looking a bit worse for wear.

Her hair was pulled back roughly, her clothes discarded for the rattiest t-shirt she could find, pants pulled off to make way for tight black shorts that had already been stained. Hinata had actually been quite pleased with herself for keeping such clothing, and judging by the chemical smell that seemed worn into the fabric, she'd used them often for the same purpose.

And as an added bonus she'd come across them in the laundry room.

But currently more important issues were at hand.

"Ah! I'm starving!" Hinata stiffened at the sound and looked over her shoulder from where she had been cleaning out under the TV cabinet, arranging videos and CD's alphabetically. She heard shoes being kicked off in the mud room, something heavy dropping to the floor and was instantly on her feet standing in the middle of the living room.

"H-h-h-how was your d-d-d-day!" She half stuttered, half shouted due to nerves. The muffled grunt she got sounded very much like "hold on..." and soon after a very...dirty...Naruto emerged.

"Ah...G-goodness." Hinata said in surprise, taking in his rather disheveled appearance. Naruto cocked his head and then looked down at his clothes.

"Damnit..." He muttered, brushing stray soil off of his shirt before looking back up at his rather unnerved 'wife'. He grinned sheepishly, or at least tried to. He had a black eye and a split lip.

"I got into a bit of a fight on the way home." Hinata felt hair on the back of her neck rise and she lurched forward without thinking, rushing to inspect him.

"Are you alright?" She exclaimed, worry creasing her forehead and painting her eyes. Naruto smiled and laughed.

"Hey, hey! It's fine! I was just helping someone out. No harm done." He stopped laughing and smiled gently at Hinata's truly worried face. She nodded, still unconvinced though, and withdrew her hands from his arm. Apparently they'd gotten there...on their own.

"A-are you h-hungry?" She asked tentatively, and then Naruto's face lit up.

"STARVED!" He moaned, "Meetings all day and they don't give you a single break to eat!" He whimpered, rubbing his stomach with a pained look. Hinata giggled and awkwardly slipped past him into the kitchen.

"Wow, the house is spotless! Did you clean ALL day?" He questioned, slipping down onto the floor at the table. Hinata nodded and watched as his face contorted and as he sat, hissing through his teeth.

"Are you sure you're ok?" She asked quietly. Naruto opened one eye and cocked a half grin.

"Perfect actually. That stew smells like _HEAVEN_." He closed his eyes and inhaled the simmering pot that'd been on the stove since that afternoon. Hinata was genius when came to using up food. She blushed and stirred it with the ladle before spooning a hearty portion into a pretty ceramic bowl.

"W-why were you f-fighting?" She asked, as casually as she could, spooning another bowl for herself. Naruto shrugged and tapped his fingers.

"Some young kid was getting himself into trouble. Can't have that." Hinata looked up and saw he was staring at her. She blinked and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"I-is something wrong?" She asked, bringing the bowls to the table. He started to chuckle and shook his head.

"Oh no. Just how silly the two of us must look. Right Kakashi?" Naruto suddenly turned his head to the window where low and behold, the Copy-cat Nin was poised outside, nose buried in that trade mark orange book.

"AH! H-HATAKE-SAN!" Hinata cried, jumping out of surprise. The man raised one lazy eyebrow and walked to the door where he promptly let himself in.

"You're quite the pair, that's for sure." Kakashi answered, sinking down to the table. Hinata just stared at him. How long had he been standing there? Had he been watching her all day?

"Oh, sorry! It's alright Hinata, no need to get so worked up. Kakashi eats with us on Wednesdays after he gets through talking at the tower." Hinata watched as Naruto scratched his head in thought, "For some reason he always ends up getting more information out of the same people in one day than the amount I attempt to get all week..."

"I do try." Kakashi said dryly, before turning to Hinata.

"You're the talk of the tower today. Apparently everyone thinks you've got some horrible disease."

"W-what?!" Hinata exclaimed just as Naruto looked up, a certain protectiveness crossing his features. Kakashi smirked under his mask.

"Seems Ino got wind you were at the hospital and when Sakura told her it was confidential...well, I'm sure you can imagine." Hinata paled.

"And you did what to defend her?" Naruto said coarsely. Kakashi smiled.

"It's confidential, remember?"

"W-would you like some stew Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata said tiredly, to which Kakashi readily accepted.

"I would give my other eye for a bowl, as would half of Suna since last time."

"Do they really? I didn't think they liked it _that _much." Naruto marveled, staring at his food. Hinata raised her head in confusion. She had since gotten up and gotten the scarecrow his stew when her question had arisen.

"L-last time? S-Suna?" She asked.  
"Last time Gaara came to Konoha you ended up making beef stew for the entire embassy because the regular cook had the flu."

"Gaara asked for it all week too..." Naruto recalled between spoon full's. Kakashi nodded and continued,

"Anyway, after it became the next big dish in Suna. They asked for it so much you just gave them the recipe." Naruto laughed.

"You're probably the most popular wife in the Shinobi world. Every time someone comes they always ask about you! Hinata blushed even more.

"Ah...I'm sure t-that's an exaggeration..." She said humbly, setting down Kakashi's steaming bowl.

"You do wonders for the political world too Hinata, what with all that Hyuuga training..." Naruto said casually as Kakashi pulled down his mask.

Hinata really couldn't answer.

* * *

After dinner, and the initial shock of seeing Kakashi Hatake's real face, Hinata had set about doing the dishes quickly while the two shinobi had openly discussed a fusion of local gossip and the political affairs circulating through the tower.

Then Kakashi had left with a wave of his hand and Naruto standing at the door with a grin.

"M-may I look at your wounds?" Hinata asked, voicing the worry that had been bothering her all night. Naruto looked exasperated.

"And here I thought you wouldn't remember!" He pouted, plopping down by the table again. Hinata smiled. Naruto may have been grown up, but he still had a horribly childish personality, not that she minded at all.

"I-I'll be gentle." She said softly, pulling out a first aid kit that she'd found earlier in the day. Taking out roles of gauze and some scissors she set about cleaning out the cut on his face, being as careful as she could.

"Owww!" Naruto groaned as the alcohol hit a knuckle he'd grazed on a brick wall. Hinata chuckled and wrapped his hand.

"Shhh." Naruto closed his mouth and watched her work, taping up his face and hands.

"The kid, he was about to beat someone else up, some civilian boy." Naruto said matter-of-factly. Hinata looked up for a moment before moving up to the gash on his shoulder she'd just noticed. Naruto stared at her hands. "I told him he should only beat up someone to match his abilities to which he told me he could 'kick my ass'. I said I wasn't going to go easy on him, and I didn't, and he still hit the shit out of me..." Naruto stiffened, his voice serious, "I cut him up pretty bad, but it was only so that I could get him subdued."

"What did you do after that?" Hinata asked naturally, actually forgetting to stutter. Something about his proximity, the tone of his voice, they were all almost familiar.

"Handed him over to Iruka. He's been staying there over night for the past week. Sometimes he stays at Kakashi's too."

"Do you know this boy?" Hinata looked up and Naruto's eyes were a bit clouded, but he nodded none the same.

"He's a street kid. I've been mentoring him as much as I can since he turned twelve two years ago, but lately he's been getting into more trouble than I can keep him out of. Frustrates the hell out of me...he's got enough potential to beat everyone I know..." Hinata gave his arm one final once over and began putting everything back inside the box.

"But he's got nobody." Hinata looked up from her work and stared at Naruto. He wasn't looking at her, but instead at his wrapped up hands, "Nobody's going to clean him up tonight, you know?" Hinata nodded and Naruto smiled sadly.

"He's a good kid. He really is, he's just alone. He acts out for attention."

"L-like you did?" Naruto smiled wider.

"Just like me." Hinata placed the last thing in the kit and closed the latch, thinking.

"I u-used to wish I w-would act o-out." She looked up briefly, "F-for attention I m-mean."

Naruto smiled and patted her head.

"Well, you didn't have to for _my_ attention. I love you just for being so wonderfully quiet."

Hinata melted into the floor.

**

* * *

****Thanks and review!**

**Xoxo,  
Spoons**


	8. Which requires more peroxide

**(Disc: If I owned Naruto, what a world.)**

**Moonstruck**

_There is no wisdom like frankness._

- Benjamin Disraeli

_The kid was scrawny; not just from awkward adolescence either, but the legitimate hunger kind of scrawny. He had wild spikes of honey for hair and some of the stormiest grey eyes Hinata had ever seen._

And, he was being held in Naruto's - their - house, quite against his will.

"Looks like I did more damage than I thought..." Naruto mused, looking at the horrible cut down his back. He smiled at the boy though, the fox-like grin spreading over his cheeks.

"You put up one hell of fight." The kid, whose name Hinata had come to find was in fact Sora, only scowled.

"Yeah well you're not walking around with a three inch gash in your back, now are you?" He grit out as Hinata applied the peroxide and then the herbal remedy she'd concocted just for the occasion. Naruto's face became serious.

"You were going to mug that kid." Sora rolled his eyes.

"He owed me money."

"That isn't the point Sora. If you ever intend on being a shinobi of my Konoha you can kiss those kinds of juvenile antics goodbye. You are here to protect those people, not take from them." Hinata paused briefly from cutting the long strip of gauze, but thought against saying anything, opting for instead laying gingerly on his wound. He hissed and Naruto shook his head.

"Why did he owe you money Sora?" He said quietly. Sora looked to the left.

"...He didn't." Naruto slammed his hand on the table and Hinata jumped, starting to wake up. The boy had been dropped off at the house at eleven thirty, just when Hinata was ready to go to bed. Iruka was beside himself, saying he'd been looking everywhere till he found him behind the old district of apartments that were about to be taken down.

"Broke down an entire chain-linked fence just to get in!" Iruka exclaimed wildly, rubbing his forehead. "You know next time Sasuke isn't going to let him off so easily!" Naruto had expressed the same feelings, pulling the irritated boy inside, ordering he sit and let her have a concerned look at his back.

"Damnit Sora! If you need to eat you come to me!" He shouted, staring him down, eyes brimming with compassion.  
Hinata witnessed something strange then, as she put tape on the gauze, feeling the ribs under his skin.

"Why didn't you just say you were hungry?" Naruto pleaded, "Why didn't you just _ask_ me?"

The boy began to tremble.

"...I hate asking you for help. How am I supposed to be something if I have to ask for help! You of all people should know how that feels! To feel like an inconvenience!" Naruto put a hand on the boys shivering head.

"Have you eaten today?"

"No." The voice was a whisper, and when he said it, the shaking increased, "No sir." Naruto sighed and looked at Hinata with a weak smile.

"You have plenty of that stew left, right?" She nodded.

"H-Hai. H-he can have anything. I-I'll fix w-whatever he l-likes!" She added, watching as Sora stared at the hands in his lap, fingers curling into his pants. She got up quickly, almost running to the kitchen, turning on the burner in a flash.  
She'd make him eat till he got sick she was so worried for that poor boy!  
Behind her, she could hear Naruto talking to him soothingly and the kid started to sound perkier as they conversed.

"I see you finally got the handle on that new jutsu. Incredible, by the way." Naruto said casually, scratching his head. Sora nodded.

"Yeah...I've been working on it."

"Haha. Don't I know it! Didn't even see it coming!" Sora laughed in a hoarse voice as Naruto pointed out his black eye, one that, to Hinata's intense confusion, was rapidly fading with each moment that passed.

Hinata carried the steaming bowl slowly to the table, setting it down as the two continued to talk about this and that. When Sora noticed the delicious smelling dish beside him though, his words broke off and he began downing the stew at a ravenous pace.

"Whoah, whoah, slow down! You'll throw it all up if you eat that fast!" Hinata flushed as Naruto scolded the boy who slowed down slightly before tipping the broth down his throat, disregarding the spoon. Naruto clucked his tongue as Hinata asked him if he'd like more.

"Yes Please!" He chirped, holding up the bowl eagerly. Hinata smiled and took it up from him, filling the porcelain with more. It was eaten in much the same way the next two times.

After the fourth serving, Sora's eyes had begun to droop sleepily and Naruto helped him up, careful to mind his back as he led him to the couch in the living room.

"Tomorrow I want you back with your team, do you hear me? I'm sending you on a mission to sand soon; Gaara needs some help with an escort and everything's tied up at the moment." The boy didn't seem to hear him, only mumbling an 'Mmm' as Naruto shook his head again and smiled softly.

"Passed out as soon as he hit the couch. Must be those pain meds Iruka pumped him with." Naruto whispered, watching Hinata clean up after the second dinner. She washed the bowl gently and set in the rack after drying it with a simple blue and white plaid towel. Naruto leaned against the doorframe, watching her silently as she worked; eyes trained on her task as she wiped a countertop and made sure the sink was cleared. She hadn't heard him at all, he supposed.

"I'm going to bed. Is there anything you need?" Hinata paused in putting the soup back in the plastic container and turned over her shoulder.

"Ah...no. I-I'm fine. Arigatou." Naruto smiled.

"No, thank you. Not everyone is so tolerant of that kid; he has more enemies than friends." Hinata looked down at her wet hands and shrugged.

"H-he seems like a g-good boy." She murmured.

"Yeah, he is. Could you get him a blanket before you get to sleep? I'd probably end up tearing the closet down..." Hinata laughed softly and Naruto's expression appeared lighter than before. His bruise was completely gone.

Before she could ask, he turned and retreated to his study. He'd insisted she take the bedroom, refusing every possible excuse she could think of as to why she shouldn't. In the end there had been no discussion, only her being forced.

Hinata brushed aside the busy, buzzing thoughts in her head and fought a yawn. Midnight. She was never used to staying up this late, even at the occasional sleep over of her girlhood.

Through the clouds, the moon hung heavy and thick, spreading out her light on the yards and streets; somewhere down over the crest of the hill where the house stood, two people spoke in hushed voices. A cat hissed and a trashcan lid clinked. Hinata rubbed her eyes and flicked off the light over the sink, padding across the floor.

The door to the closet slid effortlessly open with a small tug and she soon had collected a beige blanket in her arms, standing up to slide it closed with her foot.

The boy didn't stir as she placed the blanket sleepily over him, but his eyes were wide open.

"Could you do me a favor?" Hinata stared at the boy. She hadn't completely noticed he was awake. His head turned, the light brown strands of hair touching his forehead. Hinata knelt down.

"Do you need anything?" Her voice was a slow whisper, Sora's stormy eyes pulling on her own. He seemed to think of what he was going to say, but decided against, questioning her again.

"How come you were stuttering at sensei? You don't ever do that ...at least; he doesn't say anything about it."  
Hinata flushed, caught completely off guard.

"A-h...well...I-I..." The boy smirked.

"Oh. I get it. You were getting nervous round' sensei. That's ok...he's pretty powerful you know. The best shinobi in the world. Still, you _are_ his wife. I'd think you of all people wouldn't be so scared of him." Hinata was taken rather aback by the boy's biting words and the heavily sarcastic air that hung round him. Sora was unconvinced, staring at her with interest. Hinata tried to think of something to say. The boy _was_ half right. She did get nervous around Naruto, no matter what age.

"I'm n-not scared of N-Naruto-kun." Her voice wavered and the desired effect didn't entirely take place as Sora continued to smile at her. "I'm not!" She flushed more and sighed, a bit defeated.

"I-is it really t-that obvious that I was g-getting nervous?"  
The boy nodded.

"Really."

"I-I must m-make him feel so uncomfortable...he m-must be so upset a-about everything..." She sniffed a bit, tired and feeling a surge of emotions, mostly the overwhelming desire to cry. Sora, upon seeing his hostess's tears felt incredibly bad.

"Hey! Hey it's ok! I-I mean, I get nervous around sensei too sometimes...It's perfectly natural!"

Hinata only continued to rub her eyes, sniffling.

"I-I wish none of t-this w-would have h-h-happened." She whimpered to which Sora became very upset, sitting up as best he could and wringing his hands. He was praying that he truly hadn't made her want to leave his beloved sensei, and although he was wrong his words seemed to do some helping.

"Don't' say that! I mean, sensei really likes you! Loves you even! He talks about you all the time! You're really likeable, even if you _are _acting weird and you always look out for me and the other kids!" Hinata hiccupped softly, and eyed him, tears leaking a little. Moonlight poured from the windows and Sora stared at the pretty lady who always made him something to eat and asked how his day was when she saw him. The lady that was so soft and kind and smiled and smelled like flowers. Sensei's lady. The one he held hands with and took to the park and out to dinner and got worried and worked up over. The one who had done such special things for him...the one who was more like a Mother to him then he'd ever dare admit.

He remembered the first time he'd ever seen his Sensei act so dumb.

* * *

_"Sensei, you look stupid." Sora had been watching Naruto stand in front of the windows all afternoon, smiling at hats and flowers and summer dresses. His strong sensei walking into boutiques with simpering girls who offered him free samples, still in his Hokage's robes for cripes sake!_

_"I bet I do, don't I? I just got to find something for her...I want to surprise her tonight. She thinks I forgot about our anniversary." Naruto had smiled so wide Sora was sure his face was going to break off,_

"And what's so great about a stupid anniversary either." Sora had rubbed the spot where Naruto had flicked him in the nose, scowling.

_"Well, didn't you? You only just remembered yesterday!"_

_"Sora, one day you're going to find a girl who makes you crazy. I just hope she's half as wonderful as my wife."_

_"I bet she's not that great sensei." Sora had rolled his eyes as right there in the middle of Konoha's busiest street, Naruto had issued the list of things so appealing about his dumb old wife._

_"You think my wife isn't great? That's because you're the stupid one."_

_"For one, she's the most beautiful kunoichi in the world, and she puts up with all of my antics. How's that for starters?" Sora had frowned._

"Well...if she puts up with you..."

_"But wait! There's more! She cooks amazing ramen and she always folds my clothes the way i like, and she could kick your ass."  
"Nuh-uh Sensei!"_

_"You want me to prove it? She has mastered the most elaborate defense jutsu I've ever seen, and I've seen about a million of those!" _

_"Yeah, but she couldn't beat me."_

_"She's a great kisser too." Sora had grimaced._

_"You still forgot about her anniversary."_

_"Our anniversary. And she would never have said anything." Naruto's face had gone all soft then and Sora had been a bit surprised as he stared into the nearest shop they'd come across, "She never would have. She's just too sweet. So, you see, that's why I have got to find something perfect. At least to make up for the little bit of trouble I've caused her. She's given up a lot for me...."_

_"Like what Sensei?" Naruto hadn't replied._

_Sora had closed his mouth and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking in the window, mimicking his teacher's movements. It was then that Sora had let the demure little items catch his eye._

_"Hey sensei...does she have long hair?" _

* * *

Naruto had spent a fortune on those hair combs. They were really nice, even Sora could admit. White ivory and real silver and amethyst flowers and those sparkly clear ones too; Naruto had beamed when he'd gotten them.

"Please don't cry! I didn't mean to make you upset! He really, really loves you, so don't leave him or anything, ok!" Hinata continued to stare at him.

"Y-you think h-he does?" She asked, her voice so soft Sora barely heard it.

"Why do you look so surprised! Why wouldn't he love you! You're wonderful!" Sora blushed bright red, "I mean... you can cook nice and stuff..." Hinata had giggled.

"Hey what's so funny?"

"N-nothing..." She's smiled at him then, touching his head, "please rest and heal so Naruto doesn't have to worry. Alright?" Sora's face felt warm, and he saw how sleepy she was and nodded.

"Ok. Hey, you didn't stutter that time."

Hinata shook her head, standing up and smoothing her clothes.  
"No. I don't feel nervous anymore. Thank you Sora-kun."

Sora watched her disappear into the darkness. She sure had been acting strange.

"You must love him a lot too. At least, I think. Sensei's lucky..." Sora yawned to himself, pulling the blanket up to his chin.

"Yeah...really, really lucky."

Sora was gone the next morning.

But only after cleaning out the refrigerator.

"N-Naruto, c-calm down!" Hinata's shouts were upset as Naruto began to go towards the door saying things along the lines of "killing rats and kids" and "good-for-nothings".

Hinata didn't want him to hurt Sora. Not after the all the courage she'd felt.

The courage to make Naruto's love something worthwhile.

* * *

**Thanks everyone!  
Please review!**

**xoxo,  
Spoons**

**ps: if you are interested in Sora,  
please check out Sunbeams, chapter 5 :]**


	9. In which explanations occur

**(Disc: Let's assume for a moment that you are a dishonest man...)**

**Moonstruck**

_It is love that I am seeking for, But of a beautiful, unheard-of kind that is not in the world._

- William Butler Yeats

_Sometimes, Hinata has come to understand, life just can't go smoothly, and as much as she would have thought she could be easily forgotten, she can't disappear for two weeks and not be noticed._

"Hinata! Hinata, are you home?!" Hinata stiffened, the afternoon stun hitting her back. She knew that voice. It was gruffer and deeper than she remembered, but she'd know that voice ANYWHERE.

Panicking, Hinata tried to remember what Naruto had said a few days earlier.

"Try not to answer the door...we'll just let them think you're sick till Festival...we can at least think of something till then." Scrambling, Hinata got up from a plant book and nearby specimen she was attempting to learn about for the sliding door. Her pale hands fumbled with the handle, and she clearly heard the increased shouting from the front of the house. They'd be here in moments; they must have been able to smell her!

"Just have to get inside!" She shouted internally, yanking it open. She had to get in before...

"There you are! Where've you been?! Today we're supposed to train, remember?!" Hinata felt a ripple of fear pass over her as she turned rigidly around. She squeezed her eyes shut. She still didn't know what this Kiba would look like, or Akamaru for that matter.

"K-Kiba-kun....Akamaru....g-good too s-see you..." Her eyes pried open.

"Hey, don't forget Shino!" Kiba smiled, fangs gleaming. Hinata flushed scarlet.

Not Good.

* * *

Naruto was not going to be happy. She was breaking the rules.

Hinata hastily flung some rice balls onto a plate and almost forgot about the kettle, catching it only as it started to scream.

"Something wrong Hinata? You appear...distracted." Hinata swallowed harshly as Shino stared up at her from behind his glasses and Kiba scratched his head.

"Yeah...something's different about you...I know it's big, put I can't put my finger on it..." Beside him, Akamaru panted lazily and Hinata felt increasingly uncomfortable.

"No...n-nothing o-out of the o-ordinary!" She squeaked, practically slamming the food on the table in a fit of clumsiness.

It wasn't so much _them_ that were the problem...but it was their abilities to pry answers out of her. Shino alone could get her to say thing she'd never DREAMED of admitting, but with Kiba there it was almost too much. Besides, she could barely look at Kiba right now let alone talk.

He looked...Oh, where did she even start. He'd always been good looking, but now?! His hair was longer, pulled back in a short ponytail and his face had the same rugged handsomeness it had always employed, but now there was no doubt that Kiba was a _man_ in the same way Naruto was a _man._ Testosterone practically leaked out of both of them, or at least she'd found with Naruto it did.

"Why me..." She mumbled pathetically, setting about distributing tea as Kiba dug into the food, still half talking to a silent and suspicious Shino.

"What was that?" Kiba chewed, tossing the rice ball Shino hadn't touched to Akamaru. Hinata turned around and attempted to smile.

"N-nothing!" She passed out tea at record speed and sat down, keeping a great deal of space between herself and her former teammates and 'honorary brothers' of sorts, searching desperately for something to tell them.

"Hinata, you sure you're ok? Anything you wanna talk about? Seriously, you look like you're about to throw up..." Hinata gulped, feeling very hot and bothered.

"M-must have been the sun..."

"You should be more careful." Shino added, eyebrows lowered as he inspected her, most likely seeing straight her sorry excuses.

"H-Hai..."

"Ok, seriously, what's up! You're acting like you don't want us here!"

"T-that's only h-half of it." Hinata moaned into her drink, praying neither caught it.

"What's only half of it? It's not Naruto, is it?"

"NO! N-NO! W-well...Ah...." Both men stared at her, Kiba looking peeved and Shino increasingly more accusing. Hinata poked her fingers nervously, a habit that seemed to have recently resurfaced due to circumstances she couldn't control.

"So it is a Naruto problem! Knew it!" Kiba announced, crossing his arms and grumbling. Shino too, nodded his head.

"Given your level of distress I assume you are experiencing marital turbulence." Hinata found that she could only hang her own head wearily.

"That's not even the start."

"So, tell us about it! That bastard running you ragged or something? You don't look too skinny...hell you might even have put on a little weight." Hinata choked on her tea.

"Kiba. That was not polite." Shino reprimanded, looking back over at Hinata, pushing up his glasses.

"You do look...healthier."

"Ah..." She coughed, attempting to start some kind of defense against the two.

"So if it's not starvation, what is it? He's not running around on you is he! Because if he is...I SWEAR!"

"K-Kiba!" Hinata cried, holding up her arms in distress. The young man looked at her and his face melted from its previously savage appearance.

"Oh. Ok, then. Well." He said, easing himself back down. Akamaru too relaxed, fur relaxing like his master's own hair that had started to stand on end.

"If it's none of these, then what is the problem Hinata. It often helps alleviate stress to speak of such things, and as a close friend and former team leader I encourage you to tell me things that bother you."

Hinata felt defeated.

"This is very hard to tell you. You wouldn't understand...Naruto wants it to be private..." She said quietly, feeling very guilty for not being strong enough to tell two of her closest friends the reason she was just now starting to function normally. Kiba stared at her and Shino continued his gaze from before.

"It's..."  
'SNUFF' 'SNUFF SNUFF'

"What is it Akamaru? You smell it too?" Hinata's face turned crimson as Akamaru's massive head shoved itself under her arm and up and down her body. She sat there, being pushed around by the huge dog as it inspected every inch of her, Kiba sniffing the air and Shino looking at them all with absolutely no expression. He was pretty much used to such behaviors after so many years on the same team. Impromptu sniffing was not out of the ordinary at all. But for Hinata it was a little more awkward.

Especially when Akamaru started to sniff her chest liberally, and then backed away, a most peculiar face on his doggy features.

"I thought I smelled something weird since I came in here," Kiba started, taking another whiff and looking at Hinata, "but I wasn't gonna say anything...still..."

"What is it Kiba? Do you think it's the strange, _mysterious_, illness Ino-san spoke of?" Shino looked skeptically at Hinata, "The one she contracted sometime last week." Hinata made a move to say something, but found that Shino was daring her to make some kind of argument with his eyes and decided to watch Kiba instead.

"I've definitely smelled it before; just can't remember-" Suddenly, Kiba stopped sniffing and his eyes went wide as dinner plates. Akamaru whined from his place by Kiba's legs and Shino looked at his friend with something that might be traced back to curiosity.

"W-what?!" Hinata cried, staring at him in alarm. Kiba blinked and looked at Hinata before blinking again.

"S-sorry. If you didn't want me to know, I'm sorry." He mumbled, a light blush fanning his cheeks. Hinata felt panic stir and almost reached across the table to shake the answer out of him.

"What is it Kiba? Is she really sick?"

Kiba shook his head.

"None of my business...I should have waited..." He looked up at Hinata sheepishly, "I- I won't tell anyone...you say when you're ready. Really, sorry I pressed..." Suddenly, he was up out of his seat and yanking up Shino with him, a cheesy excitement taking over his features.

"Come ON Shino, we should go." Shino, not used to such force sent an icy glare at Kiba.

"What is the meaning of thi-"

"COME ON Shino. We should REALLY GO." Kiba grit out staring at him. Shino furrowed his brow and turned to Hinata who appeared rather shaken.

"Will you be attending Festival on Wednesday?" Hinata, who had stood as well followed Kiba as he dragged Shino and Akamaru out of the house and onto the front drive.

"H-Hai! N-Naruto says i-its m-manda..I mean, Yes! I'm going with Naruto!" Shino nodded and then Kiba shrieked as an army of beetles marched across the arm fisted into Shino's clothes.

* * *

The two days till Festival dragged by, but Naruto got more and more excited with every moment.

"This is going to be great! Oh...that's right, you've never been to one...well...that one time I took you, but that was kind of disastrous..." He exclaimed on that Wednesday morning. Apparently the whole village had the day off, a kind of holiday. Outside in the streets, shop keepers hung lanterns and streamers and decorations around the roads and booths were being set up by the river.

Hinata, who had received a surprise visit from Sakura on Tuesday had been given an elaborate recount in specific detail of just what the Festival was all about.

"Naruto started it two years ago as an anniversary of peace; he invited diplomatic families from all over the Nations to come celebrate. It was a huge hit!" Hinata had sat, marveling as Sakura bounced the adorable baby on her knees, both woman drinking hot coffee and eating a small tray of cakes that Sakura had bought earlier that morning.

The woman's hair was braided that afternoon and her clothes were a typical display of Uchiha crimson and white with Sakura's trademarked beige thrown in. Hinata had sat, feeling somewhat normal as she chattered away, Haru staring at her with wide, black, black eyes.

"Anyway, the whole deal is really important to him...I'm sure he's already told you they'll expect to see you, right?" Hinata had nodded slowly.

"Yes. He says it'll be an excellent way to dispel all the rumors...he thinks if I have some fun, that maybe I'll be able to relax a little..."

Hinata's fingers tightened on her mug. She felt badly; she should have known that. She should have had him tell her over dinner as they sat across from each other, talking about each other's days. Or at night when they were on the couch flipping through channels...anything but the stuttering she couldn't seem to get over every time she looked at him or that mile long distance that engulfed him. He was trying so hard to make her comfortable, but it only made her feel worse.

Sakura had let her eyes drop momentarily to her son.

"You've seemed tense lately. It's been getting to him; he thinks it's his fault." Hinata stared at her tea, her reflection that of a guilty woman she was still unsure about.

"He shouldn't feel like that. It's not his fault." Sakura sighed lazily and tugged on Hatsuharu's black hair.

"You know, there was a time when I didn't want you two to be together." Hinata looked up suddenly to find Sakura staring out the window, hand still stroking the ebony strands beneath Haru's ear. "I thought that you would always make him feel that way...inadequate."

Hinata's eyes were round as dinner plates. Sakura, not wanting Naruto and her to be together? Sakura looked at her in alarm.

"Oh don't worry, I definitely don't think that now! It was stupid actually! You both are, well when everything's 'normal' you're basically perfect for each other!" Hinata sighed in relief and Sakura let herself relax before continuing.

"But there was one time...one time I almost said something, well more like yelled it considering my temper..."  
Hinata licked her lips in apprehension.

"S-Sakura, do you mind telling me? I promise I won't judge you...but maybe it will help..." Sakura nodded in approval.

"Yeah, yeah I think it would help you." Hinata's returning smile gave Sakura a wave of hope.

* * *

_It was pouring rain outside and Sakura had been given a hell of a day._

_That last mission to Demon country had not ended very well and a mudslide outside of the Village had left the small team in quite the state of injury._

_But Sakura could handle the broken clavicle and lacerations. Hell, she could even handle the one with head trauma._

_It was Naruto she was having trouble handling._

_"So, what brings you to my hospital Naruto? Anything I should know about?" Sakura had stated, coming into the room. In truth she hadn't spoken to her friend in almost a month; he'd been training night and day according to Kakashi, in order to get into ANBU before he turned twenty. She went straight to the sink, rinsing her hands and soaping them before drying them with the paper towels beside her head, and finally turned to face her patient with a face that screamed 'this better be good'. What she found disturbed her._

_Naruto was slumped on the examination table, huge bags hugging the skin on his cheeks. His blue eyes were pale and his hair was dull and he was looking at least ten pounds under weight._

_He smiled wearily._

_"Hiya Sakura-chan. Ruka' made me come...something about me being too skinny." Sakura closed her mouth and shook her head, striding quickly over to him._

_"You're telling me. You're practically skin and bones! What exactly have you been doing you idiot!" Naruto coughed and let out a small chuckle._

_"I have to train..." He paused as she shone a light into his eyes, "Hiashi says if I don't make it into ANBU before my birthday I can't have her...something about being worthy or a steady income or something. I get so tired when I get home I don't even have energy to eat or anything...and I keep forgetting about groceries." Sakura felt anger pulse under her fingers. Of course it was Hiashi. He'd been stirring up nothing but hell since the day Naruto showed even the barest interest in Hinata._

_"That damn man." She hissed out, "Look at you! You're sick as a dog! If you keep this up Naruto you're immune systems going to give out! Even if you do have a demon sleeping in your gut, he can't stop you from getting pneumonia!" Naruto pulled back from Sakura, and sighed._

_"I have to Sakura-chan. I can't give up on her. I just can't. I have to do it for her."_

_"Do it for her my ass. Where is she now, hmm? According to Kiba, Hinata and you haven't even spoken since the last time you talked to that son-of-a-bitch she calls a Father!" Naruto looked angry, and for a moment Sakura was worried he was going to yell at her, but he relaxed instantly._

_"She has a good reason, I'm sure..." Sakura stood back and crossed her arms, pissed off beyond reason._

_"She should be here. She's the reason you're killing yourself. Working to death just to be with her! She could at least show up!"_

_"Sakura-chan, please...it's not, it's not like that! Her dad is really convinced I can't even attach myself to their name. He doesn't even care if the Fourth was my Father, not that I care either. I've always carried myself independently, and I'm not about to start now." "Well then maybe it's not even worth it." Sakura growled, staring at her friend. He looked at her, eyes flickering and coughed._

_"Don't say that."_

_"I'm serious!" All at once the sound of shoes slid into the office. Sakura and Naruto caught site of Hinata, drenched to the bone, wheeling down the hall through the observation window shades._

_"Well, look who's here." Sakura huffed, opening the door into the hall, "He's in-" Sakura was cut off as Hinata pushed past her and into the room._

_"Gomen..." She whispered as Sakura was jostled back, a biting come back itching on her wouldn't have heard her anyways though, because she was staring at the boy on the steel table, and Naruto was also staring at her._

_"Hina-chan, you're all wet." He said simply as she stared at him through her soaked hair. She was dripping water on the floor as she walked towards him, slowly, and then finally stood right in front of him._

_"Hina-chan? Is something wrong?" Naruto asked, touching her shoulder. The girl trembled beneath her fingers and Sakura saw her hands clenched at her sides._

_"Why?" Naruto looked taken aback as the quivering word shot out of her shaking lips, "Why are you doing this?" Naruto looked at her, his brow furrowing._

_"What do you mean 'why'?" Hinata brought her head up and her eyes were searing._

_"I want to know 'WHY' you're doing this to yourself. I want to know WHY right now." Sakura's eyes widened in shock. Never before had she seen Hinata so blatantly angry, and never in a million years would she have guessed it would be directed toward Naruto._

_Naruto's blue eyes darkened in anger._

_"You want to know 'WHY' I'm doing this? Do you?! Don't you already know?! I'm doing this so we can be together, so maybe, just maybe, I won't blacken your precious family name! Isn't that what your Father wants Hinata, for me to prove myself? Isn't that what YOU wanted-"_

_Slap._

_The sound echoed across the room as Naruto's mouth fell open a fraction, blue eyes wide. Hinata sucked in a breath as her hand shivered, still raised._

_"How dare you." She whispered, voice thick, "How DARE you say- say that I would EVER, EVER..." Her voice grew in volume as she spoke, "Ever want you to do this to yourself! How dare you say that to me! Baka!"_

_Naruto stared at her as she shook, her hand coming to cover her face._

_"Look at you! You're wasting yourself away! I'm not worth this! I never, ever said I was worth this! When Kakashi told me-" She raised her head and looked at him severely, "When Kakashi told me Iruka had to make you come to the hospital I didn't believe him! I couldn't believe that you would go so far as to let this happen!"_

_"Do you know how much I worried for you! Kakashi said you weren't eating and my Father keeps me tied in that house! There was nothing I could do!" Sakura felt her heart break as Hinata sobbed, her tears mingling with the left over reached out his hands and took either side of Hinata's pale face in his palms._

_"Gomen." He whispered, brining her towards him. "I'm so sorry Hina-chan. I'm sorry."_

_Her arms wrapped round his shirt, digging into the fabric._

_"I w-was so worried." She gasped. Sakura, put her hand to her lips and looked away, blinking back the story had made Hinata feel rushes of relief. It was proof that she and Naruto were not perfect, and if they could make it through her Father, they could make it now. Not to mention that she had grown up inside and out at some point, and if she did it once she would do it again._

* * *

It was a ray of hope in a fast darkening place for Hinata, and unlike Sora's own speeches and Kakashi's words of encouragement, it gave her something to hold onto. The memory was now engrained in her brain and with it she felt she might actually be able to make one tinier step towards something bigger.

So as she stood in the kitchen with the boy who starved himself for her, going on about the Festival, she found herself feeling very courageous.

She took a deep breath and looked at her husband with all the strength she could muster.

"It sounds," She started slowly, "It sounds like a wonderful time."

Naruto's mouth had spread into a huge smile.

"Wow Hina-chan, you didn't even stutter!"

* * *

By seven o'clock sharp, night had fallen on the village and suddenly, everything came alive. Hinata stood on the street, her arm tucked into the crook of Naruto's arm and looked anxiously about her.

"Don't worry, I'm right here. Just be yourself! Everyone loves you!" He whispered, grinning at the child who passed him and waved. People from all over were milling about in families and pairs. A few young couples went by and some blushing mad genin as well, all dressed in their best Yukata for the occasion.

Hinata's own, she'd found on her side of the closet thankfully, was a bright turquoise adorned with yellow and pink flowers and pearly white dragon flies. It fit wonderfully and Hinata was glad that it was modest and fashionable; she'd been worried about what Sakura had meant when she'd said "Ino bought your Yukata last year".

But even she, with her makeup done and her hair combed back with the lovely combs she'd found in a large jewelry box, was pale in comparison to the sun that shone beside her.

Decked in red and orange instead of the traditional Hokage's robes and with his hair somewhat done, Naruto was unlike anything she'd ever seen. She blushed as he ushered her past streets and the whispering crowds that past them, and when her arm became jostled from his, his rough hand captured hers as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama! Look what we won!" They had just passed a game booth where Naruto had tried his luck at winning when the tiny shrill voices had broke from their stupor.

Turning, Naruto and Hinata laid eyes on three giggling little girls, no more than seven Hinata presumed. All three of them were blushing and shifting their weight as they held out their prizes for him to inspect.

"You won that! What game?" Naruto exclaimed staring at a small turtle in a tiny cardboard box. The girl, whose front teeth were missing laughed with her friends.

"This is not a game Hokage-sama! You fish for them!"

Naruto's eyes widened in mock surprise and Hinata couldn't help but smile too, hiding her mouth with her sleeve nervously.

Suddenly all three girls looked up at her in awe.

"Hinata-hime! You look so pretty!" The first girl squealed, putting her hands on her small face.

"Hinata-hime, do you think this is a nice color! My mother bought it for me!" The other said, showing her obi. Hinata looked at each and blinked.

"Ah..." The three looked at her in return, faces shining in the lantern light. Hinata closed her eyes and when she opened them, her smile was enormous. She bent over slightly and suddenly was on eye-level with the three. "You all look like Princesses. Don't they?" Hinata turned around and the three turned with her to find three boys whispering to themselves. All of them were at least twelve and they were all staring at her. When she addressed them, they all blushed and stood up straighter. The three little girls all put their hands to their faces and began to giggle excitedly.

"These three princesses deserve something special, don't you think? I say you treat them to dango as a start." Hinata straightened and looked at the boys with a small smile and the three blushed and laughed nervously.

"H-Hai Hinata-san!" One said, stepping past them to offer his hand to the three squealing girls. The other two looked at each other and shrugged, finally inching past to follow suit.

When they had disappeared, Hinata had immediately but her hand to her mouth, "Oh, I can't believe I did that..." She whispered staring at the ground. "I suppose…well, every girl wishes it sometime…"

"You are incredible...." Naruto said softly, tugging at her hand, "Those three boys were from Sound."

Hinata couldn't say anything, only follow as Naruto led her on to the next booth and the next giggling group of children.

* * *

The night wore on with more fried food than Hinata thought imaginable and more people than Hinata had ever thought she could see in one night. Even Neji was there with Tenten, his wife she'd immediately inferred, dragging along a stubborn Tetsuya and a rosy-cheeked baby dubbed by her nephew as 'Nao-chan'.

But that night something far more important happened than seeing Shikamaru Nara almost taken out by his wife for lack of interest.

It happened that when one is the wife of the Hokage, one is offered a lot of free things.  
Food, game tries, coupons, anything that could be handed out at festival was given to her on sight.

And one of these things was Sake.

Now Hinata was not a big drinker even though she'd had Sake several times at home as ceremony, and there was once that mission when they were fourteen and mistaken for older civilians. That had not ended well, it turns out that Kiba can be a very persuasive person when intoxicated and the whole idea of 'Trust me, we can swim in a fountain' was not exactly as correct in experiment as it was in theory.

So when the man had eagerly persisted that the Hokage and his wife try at least a cup full of his 'famous rice wine' who was Hinata to decline?

Hinata was only on her third glass, standing by the booth, watching in a very shy happiness as Sasuke and Naruto attempted to win a stuffed bear, each failing miserably as Sakura stood by shooting glares at her husband.

It was only coincidence that Kiba should show up with Shino and upon seeing her beverage come rushing over.

Hinata's wrist was grabbed up just as she'd raised the cup to her lips and much to her surprise was downed by not her, but an Inuzuka.

"Kiba?!" She exclaimed, staring at him in disbelief. The boy dropped the glass on the ground and stared at her.

"What are you doing Hinata? Don't you know?!" He shouted. Hinata shook her head in confusion, a bit loose thanks to the alcohol and waited for him to answer.

A crowd of drunken shinobi passed by with shouts and Hinata missed the reply, stepping closer.

"What?" She asked again, this time her voice raised. Sakura turned towards the two and Naruto did as well, just about to sigh in defeat, just as Kiba opened his mouth.

"I _said,_" He shouted louder, "That's bad for the BABY!"

Hinata couldn't believe her ears.

**

* * *

****Hard to believe by this time,  
it was already Thanksgiving!**

**Thank you for reading this far!  
Please review!**  
**  
xoxox,  
Spoons**


	10. Which produces excessive crying

**(Disc: I am a dishonest man – IF I said I owned anything…)**

**Moonstruck**

_You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant  
unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment._

- Dave Barry

_The world stopped turning. _All around her Hinata's life came screeching to a sudden, and rather painful, halt.

"W-w-w-w-what?" Her voice was barely a whisper as it came out of her mouth, but that wasn't such an issue because everyone, _EVERYONE, _had stopped moving.

Kiba stared at her; the man serving sake stared at her.

People who had been previously occupied were now silent...and staring at her.

Sakura was standing in awe and Sasuke looked just as deadpan as usual - save for his raised eyebrow. Haru promptly, and with great Uchiha dignity, shoved his hand in his mouth; eyes looking curiously at everyone.

And most of all, Naruto was standing, mouth hanging to the floor.

"Ohhhhhh sh-" Kiba said suddenly, eyes bugging out, "YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE BABY?!" Hinata didn't reply, only gaped.

"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-"She stuttered, sounding much like an engine that wasn't properly started. Kiba yanked on his hair.

"Oh My God, Hinata I thought you knew!" He screeched, whipping his head back and forth from the poor girl and the rest of the world.

Hinata stopped speaking and her eyes fluttered, her head starting to spin.  
'_This isn't happening, this isn't happening...THIS IS HAPPENING!' _She screamed in her head, stumbling backwards.

The last coherent thought she had was the realization that she was falling, quite ungracefully, into a stall full of baby chickens.

"Hinata-hime!" Someone shouted as she collided with the wood, crashing through, scattering the cardboard pen of chicks into the street. In an instant people were running to catch the chicks and two men had hurried over to pull her up from the wreckage.

Naruto, still had not moved.

Sasuke sighed.

Must he do _everything_?

"Baka." He said simply, slapping his friend on the back of the head. Immediately, Naruto's senses kicked in and he rushed to where she was being handled, pushing the two civilians out of the way to gather his limp wife into his arms. He smiled sheepishly at the crowd, Hinata's head lolling oddly on his chest.

"Um...surprise?" He said with a laugh. The street smiled happily back at him and a few people whooped as they scrambled to continue their pursuit of the baby animals still chirping at their feet. Sakura shook her head, seeing suddenly that Hinata now had a long gash on the back of her leg that was starting to bleed, staining Naruto's clothes. She looked at Sasuke and her eyes were tired.

"I should probably go sort this all out..." She stated, hefting an alert Haru from one hip to the other. Sasuke nodded and turned to Kiba; the poor man was now downing another glass of sake guiltily, Shino nearby looking thoroughly confused.

"I'll go." Sasuke sighed once more, shoving his hands in his pockets to console the horrified Inuzuka and his dog.

* * *

Hinata felt like someone had taken a hammer to her head. That, or someone was pressing their thumb on the growing bump forming just on the crown of her skull.

"Hinata?" The girl in question sighed, opening her eyelids blearily.

"S-Sakura-chan?" A low chuckle emitted as Sakura dotted her face with cold rag. They were, or ;;at least; Hinata was, lying in the master bedroom;;. The ceiling ;;seemed to warp; above Hinata's head as she fought for clarity. She wasn't wearing the kimono anymore, but instead what seemed to be the traditional underclothes, though at this point she really didn't care.

"Welcome back!" Sakura chirped quietly as Hinata slowly awoke from her stupor, rubbing her eyes slowly. Sakura shook her head at the sight and moved away, depositing the rag in a shallow dish on the nightstand. "Hinata, I have some news for you," She started, excitement tingling her professional tone. Hinata sank back in the pillows and braced herself for the inevitable.

"You're about four weeks pregnant."

Hinata's breath caught.

"So it wasn't a dream..." She marveled, squeezing her eyes shut, the hands rubbing her eyes pressing on them so purple dots exploded under her eyelids. Sakura's mouth twisted uncertainly.

"Um...do you want to talk about it?" Hinata took her eyes from her face and stared at the ceiling. Did she? No. Not really; she wasn't even ready to accept it right now. She was simply allowing the reality of the situation to sit unsurely in her mind, not allowing it to touch her. Truly, it wasn't that she didn't _want_ to accept it. She really wanted nothing more than to let life simply explode and everything fall into that wonderful happiness she seemed to have possessed before all of this. But she was only seventeen years old. She wasn't anywhere close to _thinking_ about children, let alone actually having one. With Naruto no less.

All at once Hinata shot up, hair falling in disarray down her back.

"Naruto!" She cried, staring at Sakura. The pink-haired kunoichi gently eased Hinata back down, Hinata having immediately grabbed the back of her head as soon as she'd become upright.

"No worries." Sakura soothed, "He seems to be taking it...rather maturely." Hinata felt pins strike the back of her eyes, fighting not to cry. She remained silent though, unable to voice how she was feeling; how embarrassed and upset. Sakura knew how girls operated though and patted Hinata's hand with reassurance.

"Would you like to talk to him? I could go get him if you'd like." She started softly, standing up with the bowl of hot water. Hinata didn't reply, but instead slowly got up, walking shakily to the closet. Sakura watched her movements, still holding the bowl. After a moment, and opening the closet a fraction Hinata turned her head over her shoulder.

"Please allow me to make myself presentable." She smiled weakly and Sakura smiled back, eyes staring at the back of Hinata's head. With pale fingers, Hinata's hand curled round the wood of the door.

"Alright." Sakura agreed with a whisper.

* * *

"Sakura-chan just left." Naruto stated casually, walking into the bedroom. Hinata stared at her feet, silent. A quiet laugh.

"You should just see Hatsuharu...he's already got his Father's reflexes." Hinata blinked. The bed shifted as Naruto sat down beside her.

"Ah. T-that's...good." She tried to keep her breathing even and controlled, attempting to think of the situation as a logical test that should be approached with calmness. Stuttering would not help her, she had to remain focused at all costs. Emotions would not be allowed to surface as violently as they usually did. Her sanity at this point was depending on it.

"How do you feel? Sakura said you managed to hit your head again..."A pause and Hinata lifted her eyes for a moment, flashing them at Naruto. He was staring at the wall, a somehow natural smile playing on his features, "You seem to be doing that quite a bit lately." He caught her stare and kept it, but to her intense surprise Hinata did not blush or stutter or even look away.

She held it, and as she did she was thinking of what to say in reply, she saw something she had not expected to find.  
A mask: well made and well worn.

"Have you done that?" She questioned softly, still staring at the spheres of blue that muddled in confusion, Naruto's eyes reflecting easily his thoughts.

"What?" He said with a breathy laugh, a bit taken aback. Hinata blinked at him, mesmerized.

"Have you always hidden your feelings like that? Could I really never have noticed?" Naruto's eyes hooded with darkness. He stared at her intently, eating her away with thoughts Hinata could not trace. Hinata found her lips moving on their own accord, "Do you always smile...like this...when you feel pained?" She whispered it, too deep to realize her voice was so quiet.

"Were all your smiles like that? So forced..." Her voice dropped away as he reached out and touched her face softly with his hand; rough and tan and warm.

Hinata did not stiffen, but felt she relax instead.

"Not all of them...but sometimes...yes. It's easier, isn't it?" He said with a tiny smile, "To laugh instead of cry for what you can't change. You're so observant, and here I thought I'd be able to get away with it for a little longer. You always seem to do that...see right through me." His voice cracked a fraction, eyes so tired, so laced with stress and exhaustion. Her own eyes widened.

The epiphany hit her like a brick wall, stealing the air from her lungs and the beat of her heart. All this time, he'd been more alone than Hinata.

All at once Hinata felt her body move without any sort of thoughts, any sort of motive except to comfort him, to somehow get across the point of what she wanted_ him_ to feel for a change. To assure him.

In one, smooth motion she wrapped her arms around his neck.

If her face had not been buried in his shoulder, she might have seen the shock on his face, arms held open in astonishment.

"I'm here..." Hinata began, frighteningly calm, "I will always want to be here for Naruto-kun." She dug her fingers in the fabric of his clothes, voice muffled slightly.

"I want to hear his troubles...I want to know what makes him sad and angry, and happy. I will always listen and I will never judge. I want us to be honest with one another, and to never hide anything. Anything, I promise I'll listen as best I can, I'll try to help you...I don't want Naruto-kun to ever feel alone again." Hinata fought internally with herself, attempting to keep composed, but in the end she couldn't stop herself from forcing the words out.

"I want Naruto-kun to know that I may not be able to be there all the time, but I'm going to try! I'm going to try especially hard for Naruto-kun...and for me. I want this to be a happy ending. I want us to be happy together no matter what!"

Naruto stared at the wall, unable to say anything.

"But I can't do this alone. Not now...not...not after this." She whispered, tightening her hold, "I can't- by myself...I'm so scared. I thought I could, but Naruto I can't! I can't!"

She dissolved into tears. She was frustrated, and incredibly vulnerable.

Her little plans of conquering the situation were rapidly disappearing before her eyes, and there was nothing she could do.

Ninjas do not cry, shinobi did not break so easily. She was better than this.

And yet, she felt as though the whole world had opened up. That there was vision beyond her own, beyond code and rules of honor. That it was...possible...that one might share their deepest fears with another being and not be held against it. That, somewhere, there was a respite. It was a crazy, new idea.

She wasn't exactly used to physical contact.

But still, she really found herself...comforted. Naruto held her tightly against him, almost to the point of squeezing the life from her.

"We'll do it. We'll get through all of this mess. You better believe it." He murmured against her ear, basking in the contact.

Had it really been weeks since he'd last found himself holding his wife? His mouth twitched into a smile, genuine this time.  
He'd really missed that way she fit.

* * *

Hinata lay, stretched across the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Naruto breathed evenly beside her, his arms tucked up under his head. Both of them had been silent for some time, content in just being near the other.

There was a sense of comfort that seemed to have ignited between them after Hinata's teary proclamation and all the craziness of a few hours.

Its funny how those things always seemed to happen around Naruto.

"Do you think...I'll be a good mother?" Hinata asked suddenly, breaking the quiet. Naruto rolled his head to look at her, but she didn't stir, eyes still trained to the plaster.

"Fantastic!" He half yelled, staring at her, "Why would you think otherwise?" She shrugged, a silly crooked smile on her face.

"My Mother died when Hanabi-chan was born, so I never really learned much from her." She responded quietly, sheet rustling as she turned her head too. "You probably already knew that." Then as though she'd just remembered her sister, Hinata bolted up.  
"How is my sister? Is she well?" She asked, almost frantically.

Naruto grinned, teeth glimmering in the darkness.  
"You could say that." Hinata looked back up at the ceiling, relief flooding her with a sigh.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"Where's your Mother?" She heard a stilling breath beside her and didn't dare look his way, hands straying to her stomach, trying to touch the skin there as casually as she could.

A moment passed slowly as Naruto contemplated his answer.

"Where she always wanted to be I guess. With my Father." Hinata couldn't help but smile. Leave it to Naruto to be an eternal optimist.

"That's romantic." She said aloud, not meaning to voice the silly, girlish thoughts in her head. She blushed suddenly and swallowed.

"Yeah, I know right?" A pause, "Still...sometimes I do get...bitter. Sometimes I wish that somehow she could have still managed to be here." Hinata blinked in concentration.

"What...what happened to her?"

"Kakashi told me she was too depressed to take care of me. She died days after I was born... suicide." He smiled briefly, eyebrows furrowing as he thought, "I guess she wasn't as strong as she thought she was. But then, I don't think I could have taken care of me either."

"I'm sorry."

"It all turned out alright. I don't really think about her as my Mother anyway." They quieted, drinking in the darkness and flicker of summer air that broke through the trees every now and again.

"Have I told you...about my Mother?" Hinata asked suddenly. Naruto's eyes were closed, but one opened lazily, staring at her.

"Bit and pieces here and there. It's one of those things I don't press on. You get sensitive every time I bring it up."

"I don't remember her as much as I want. It makes me feel...guilty." She said gently, curling her legs up, pale and white against the sheets.

"I didn't know that." He yawned, his cheek resting against his shoulder.

She let her eyes flick out the window, at the stars swirling under covers of cloud.

"It's going to rain tonight..." She murmured. Naruto grunted in approval.

"What did she look like? Your mother?" Hinata sat up slowly as Naruto asked, his voice thick with what sounded like sleep.

"Father says I favor her. I have her eyes apparently." She whispered getting up to silently pull a blanket over him.

"What was she like...?" The mumbled question came tumbling from his mouth like a second thought as he sank deeper into the mattress. Hinata, with snow white fingers, removed the sash from his head, his hair falling round his face in silky strands. She hesitated before bending down and staring at his peaceful face.

"I remember her smiling, but I don't ever remember her being happy." Hinata said calmly, pulling back.  
She'd been too frightened this time, but maybe next time she'd have the courage to kiss his forehead.

She'd know someday what it was like to feel that hair between her fingers; liquid gold.

* * *

As soon as she was sure he was truly asleep she slipped from the bedroom, walking quickly to the bathroom nearby.

She slid the door open. No moonlight shown through the dark, so her reflection appeared silvery and mysterious as she stood before the mirror.

Hinata remembered lonely nights when she was a girl, sitting on the edge of the bathtub and staring at her face. She had not played this game since then, since her Father had seen her in the garden one morning feeding birds crumbs from her skirt. How funny, she had not remembered such a thing until now.  
Seen her and called her 'Haruhi'.

The one she saw now was clouded by the warm rain that had started up, slowly hitting the windows of the house with fat plops.

She stared at her profile, the contours of her face. Her cheekbones, her eyes, the curve of her nose and the arch of her brows.

Slowly, with a practiced hand she plaited her hair and gently snaked it over her shoulder before holding her bangs back with nimble fingers.

The cold of the tile set into as she stared at herself in the mirror, turning her head in different ways.

Two pale pearls stared out of the snow drift of her skin, shining on the mirror, hazed with rain.

A hand touched the cold plate of glass as she traced her mother's illuminated image...

Her mother's name was springtime, but she'd never seen a face so coldly beautiful as this.

In the quiet darkness Hinata decided that her child would never know the courteous detachment she had in her own childhood.  
He would know warmth; he would know summer, and all the love she could give.

Her heartbeat raced as she touched her stomach, so very much aware of the being that was forming in her.

In one wondrous moment, she knew, and as she rolled it off of her tongue she instantly understood how meant-to-be such marvels are, how nature knows ahead of time.

She knew his name even before she met him, a secret she would keep to herself as many mother's before her had.

A quiet whisper to the darkness, a fluttering greeting to the beautiful stranger she could not begin to know at all, but still found herself loving more deeply than any other.

Hinata wondered if every woman felt this way when she discovered what it meant.  
What it meant to yearn to hold something so much when it was barely more than a conception.

She wondered if she was the only woman to sit in the bathroom at midnight, calling her baby by name.

"Kiyoshi." A tiny little voice, swallowed by darkness.

**

* * *

****Thank you for reading!  
Please review!**

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	11. In which several things are stolen

**(Disc: I OWN NOTHING!!)**

**Moonstruck**

_Having children makes you no more a parent then having a piano makes you a pianist._

- Michael Levine

_It was the longest eight weeks of Hinata's life._ Never before had she experienced such torments.

Pregnancy made any training or mission look, literally, like an afternoon stroll.

The slight nausea of earlier had erupted into full-blown morning sickness. Before eleven o'clock she couldn't keep anything down. She was tired constantly and seemed to do nothing but eat, and when she wasn't eating she was restless, and then she was tired, and when she was tired, she ate.

And what might she have eaten besides the ridiculous foods she craved daily?

Watermelon, caramels, obscure vegetables and that one time she swore she would die if she didn't have a fried banana right that very second. She had never even _had_ a fried banana before, but that didn't really seem to stop her from making Naruto take the trip out the grocer so she could make it herself. At midnight. It was such a blessing to be able to cook.

She made him one too of course, but it appeared he had gone straight to bed after returning home with the bag of fruit, still in his house shoes and only half-on Hokage's robe. (A/N: I have to admit... this image makes me laugh)  
But she was so miserable at the time she was far beyond caring about other people, so she had broken apart the banana with her fingers before eating it with satisfaction.

Until she threw up again and began to cry, to which Naruto responded by groggily slamming open the bathroom door to hold her hair back in true Naruto fashion, full of chivalry and clumsiness.

But Naruto never complained. He complied with every demand, though sometimes with a tired smile, and did his best to stay out of her way when she gave off the aura of 'you did this to me and by God you will pay...'

So the weeks had passed, dragging on, but passing nonetheless without much of any kind of incident, unless you count the swarms of people who seemed attached to Hinata anywhere she dared to go. Flocks of men and woman with sacks of goods and food, ladies flooding out of shops badgering her with homemade remedies and wives tales of how to alleviate just about any pregnancy ailment, all of which Sakura severely recommended _against_.

By herself, Sakura was enough of a walking medical book. She was constantly checking up on Hinata, issuing detailed instructions about diet, and proper exercise for pregnant woman, especially important for kunoichi who may have unknowingly sustained an internal injury during combat.

These were the times Hinata wished with all her heart she had the courage to just saying 'screw you'.

You try having the mentality of a low self-esteem ridden girl who is thrust into the future and lands, face down, in a pile of Naruto-induced pregnancy.

Of course she'd never, ever say anything like that. She only accepted the advice and to be honest, it did help. But, the lingering feeling of happiness in the pit of her stomach, the swell of glee when she saw Sakura and Haru and knew, at least at the moment, she would one day possess _that_ was better than any trick or diet.

Hinata can definitely say it was pleasant to an extent, but she was more than happy when things began to finally settle down, or at least go back to the slightly dysfunctional road to normalcy they'd formerly been occupying.

And there was no doubt in Hinata's mind that this was making her stronger in way she never even deemed possible...

But for the people Naruto cared about nothing was ever, _ever_ easy.

"Naruto! You forgot your bento!" Hinata rushed out of the house, hastily shoving muddy boots to the side of the door with a roll of her eyes. It was the second time that week Naruto had walked out without his lunch or really much of anything.

These days he seemed to be lost in his own skin, ambling around with something similar to confusion plastered to his face.

With a small sigh of relief she saw him turn his head over his shoulder, foot pausing just over the division of the yard and the dusty street.

"Ah..." He said, turning fully to face her as she came hesitantly towards him.

"Make sure you eat it today. I don't want you hungry during that big meeting..." She said, pushing the cloth-wrapped box into his hands. He nodded briskly, receiving the food before his face fell slightly.

"With the um...oh crap..." She shook her head and laughed a little.

"The proposition groups for International squads." She answered, touching his hand to gain his wandering attention. "Look at me Naruto."

With a sheepish grin he did as he was told staring straight into her eyes.

"You'll do fine; be yourself. Nothing to be nervous over." She stated quietly, watching as that Naruto determination settled over his features. With a low chuckle he swooped down and pecked her on the lips, eyes lingering over her stunned ones.

"Ahhh..." She gasped, grabbing her mouth, to which Naruto only beamed mischievously.

"That's for your hypocrisy..." He declared, laughing as he landed another kiss on her forehead, watching in sheer amusement as she hastily grabbed the bangs curtaining her face and blushing skin. "...And that was because the villagers are watching."

"W-what...w-why?!" Hinata suddenly screeched, watching in disbelief as Naruto walked away, still laughing. Naruto had yet again, stolen a kiss.

"Because!" He said, turning on the street, holding up his bento, "I have the prettiest wife in Konoha, and I can't waste any opportunities! If I did, you might leave!"

In a wave of laughter from the small group of people on the street, Naruto disappeared, the crowd aware of itself dispersing as well, leaving nothing but the emptiness of early morning and the shimmering sunlight through the trees.

"Oh gracious." Hinata mumbled, her face cherry red. With a nervous smile she quickly turned and began walking as fast as she was able into the house, trembling from all the excitement.

_"Glad to see you're enjoying yourself, Hinata-san."_

Hinata stopped halfway to the door, her body instantly stiffening. The voice was cold, so cold and so familiar. Foreboding seated itself in her stomach, shattering the embarrassing, but beautiful moments of before.

"Kaori..." Hinata whispered, refusing to turn around. She knew as soon as she did all her reserve would falter.

A sick smirk weaved its way across the shallow features of the Hyuga's personal messenger dog.

"Such a pleasure to be with you once again..." A pale hand stroked the back of Hinata's neck, just so...

"Leave." Hinata barely recognized her own voice as she fisted her hands into her dress, shivering.

"Or what?" The voice cooed mockingly, trailing its freezing fingers down her back. Each touch was like a knife slamming into her through the fabric and Hinata could barely stifle her cry as the hand settled on her hip.

"O-or I'll scream...and Naruto will come back...." She breathed, shuddering. All at once, as soon as it had begun, Kaori retreated and Hinata found herself alone, still staring at the front door.

"Hmm...such a pity. I was hoping to have more fun before taking you to your Father." Hinata let out a quavering breath and blinked away the tears that had pinned themselves to the back of her eyes; there was a subtle satisfaction in Kaori's obvious fear of Naruto's name, and though Hinata did not know their potential history, she could assume whatever encounters the two had experienced were not of the pleasant kind.

Kaori was a madly jealous type, but he was weak in strength. Once, he might have been kind, but years of torture under the strict upper classes of Hyuuga politics had broken whatever goodness in him he might have had...worn him into a sick puppet of sorts that took only the utmost gladness in the suffering of others.

His will had slowly shifted with those of the elders; his goals for 'the good of the clan'. Loosely translated, he had stopped at nothing to torment the branch families and, despite the modern times fast approaching, had remained firm with the old values of centuries ago.

But he had not always been so vile. When they were children, Kaori and Hinata had often been inseparable. They were both small and less than accomplished with their training and often put down due to their inability to advance with Neji and the others.

They were both main house members - pure bloods - though Kaori was much less than Hinata and an even less capable fighter.

Still, Kaori had once been the only friend Hinata had possessed, but times had shifted and Hinata's heart had somehow remained untarnished while Kaori's corrupted, and the only feeling lingering was a warped possessiveness over her that had not faded.

"W-what are you doing here." Hinata said weakly, turning around.

His pale eyes narrowed, the dark hair fastened in two long tails down his back rustling as he folded his hands within the silk sleeves of his kimono.  
"Your Father wishes to speak with you about..." A flick of his eyes down her form, "...your current condition."

Hinata's blood froze.  
Of course.

There was no way her Father could not have known; news traveled like lightning within the village and the Hyuuga were more than perceptive to any change in the balance of things...

...and now.

"And what if I refuse?" Hinata exclaimed sharply, suddenly overcome with the urge to protect the freedom she felt at present, the feeling of not having to please anyone but herself; to be alive for once.

Kaori chuckled, but his eyes probed hers menacingly.

"He told me you would say that. He also told me to remind you of a promise if it were to happen..." He let his eyes hood under his long lashes, "Or should I say, a term of contract."

Hinata's heart beat rapidly under her dress, fighting its way out of her chest.

There was no telling what her Father truly wished to speak of, no way of understanding his motives. Although, because of Kaori's amused expression she was beginning to form some sort of gruesome picture.

"Then please, kindly remind me of his dirty manipulations." Hinata said somewhat weakly, protectively holding a hand on her stomach. Kaori grinned.

"With pleasure." He drew a scroll from his robe and although Hinata had never before seen it in her life, something within her started. A flare of fury she couldn't begin to recognize. A single spark of her future self. Kaori, watching her reaction with satisfaction opened it with finesse before reading over it once briefly.

"Please!" Hinata pleaded, the amount of desperation in her voice making him look at her quizzically before reading with a stoic voice:

"It was decided as retribution for the Hyuuga clan that if the union between a Hyuuga Hinata and one Uzumaki Naruto were to commence without the interference of The Council, then all legal position and influence within the clan be relinquished, and that any healthy child born with the traits of Hyuuga decent be turned over to the clan for treatment deemed necessary to protect and retain peace within the clan by Lord Hiashi or The High Council as it is seen fit...."

Hinata felt her legs starting to collapse as she stared at Kaori, his own face stretching with each word, trailing off upon seeing his task completed most thoroughly.

"A wonderful agreement I must say, though terribly selfish of you Hinata. To think...handing over your child to the hand that fed you; the very one you bit. Ironic, isn't it?"

Hinata could not find words.

"Take me to my Father..." She gasped, jerking forward, "Take me to him."

* * *

Hiashi sat within the room, enclosed in a shell of paper and slender wood.

His eyes were set firmly upon the door, distant footsteps lingering in the hallway occupying his mind; the cup of tea in his hand was long forgotten, save for the slight warmth building between his cold fingers.

He had not spoken to Hinata for a very, very long time; and now he was about to bring about the only shred of control he had left of her life: her child.

Within his own heart he knew that he should not be doing what he was. She had made it painfully evident she did not want to be associated with him by any means last time, but it was for the good of the clan. His stony eyes narrowed in accordance.

Until the day he was too feeble to lead, he would see that the good of the clan was always the priority, even if it meant causing harm to his own daughter yet again.

"Hiashi-sama." The formidable man lifted his head in acknowledgement as Kaori opened the door, stepping aside to reveal his eldest daughter.

She was pale as a sheet, her hands held stiffly in front of her.

"Such garb...did you not give her time to change into something suitable?" Hiashi stated dryly, surveying the deep blue dress with distaste. Hinata stared at him, eyes wide.

Kaori smirked, watching the interaction with amusement.

"She _insisted_ that you two speak immediately, Hiashi-sama." Hinata's father nodded, though still displeased and resumed his staring at Hinata with a sort of sterile thoughtfulness.

"Thank you...you may leave us." He added, as though Kaori's presence was merely a second thought.

Looking slightly irked, Kaori gave Hinata a final once over before retreating, his robes swishing as he closed the door on the two.

"Please, sit." Hiashi's cold voice hit Hinata with the force of two swords clashing on the field. She slowly lowered herself down, thankfully separated by her Father's desk

"Tea?" He gestured at his own cup and Hinata blinked at him slowly.

"Such formalities...it's as though you want me here." She whispered, Hiashi dropping his hand slowly back onto the desk.

"You are still aware of the policy dictated to you, hopefully by Kaori?" He asked slowly, eyes narrowing in the dim light filtering through the paper walls. Hinata dropped her own eyes to her lap.

"Such displays in front of anyone who would have cared to listen. I am beyond horrified at the precautions you took to get me to come at your beck and call; like an ornery little girl." Hiashi breathed in slowly through his nose, a weighted pause settling over the two.

"It...it is not my pleasure to do this to you. I do not find any enjoyment from this, contrary to what you may have been told by your husband."

"Leave Naruto out of this." Hinata hissed. Hiashi felt the reserves of petulant annoyance grow behind the back of his throat.

"It is too far-gone to simply ignore the man you married, Hinata. The council's blind eye has been switched off due to your pregnancy, and you would do well to submit to the demands we've established." Hiashi's voice was gruff, as though he were speaking to a naughty child instead of a grown woman.

"Still..." He began again, letting the irritation ebb away, "I do not wish for this to be an inconvenience on either part, though it is necessary." His eyes settled onto Hinata, stern in their argument, "There can be no ignorance on the subject Hinata, the child you will have _must_ be turned over."

"Why are you so interested? He will not be of pure blood, so why should you waste your valuable time-"

Hiashi cut her off with the slamming of his hands on the desk.

"It is exactly that reason that I must devote such attentions!" He said lowly, glaring at her, "Because of your marriage our clan's secrets are at the mercy of anyone who may want them, and you no longer have the right of protection that this clan offers! I am only willing to overlook those circumstances because of the agreement _you _made, but I will not have the safety of my family sacrificed for one mutt of a child! No Hyuuga will be compromised due to your immaturity!"

"I-is that what you think t-this is?" Hinata trembled, staring at her Father, "An immature decision? That's the reason I must submit _my child_ to the coldness you call a family?" Hinata felt the tears come down her face as she cried out to her Father, "To have _my son _tortured because of who he is?"

Hiashi's cold eyes softened, but his voice retained the same stern ringing in her ears.

"Your children will always be tormented because of who they are. You were aware of this fact the moment you married Naruto Uzumaki." Hinata set her eyes firmly on her Father.

"Naruto is twice the man you will ever wish to become and my children will be proud to be called his, the children of the greatest Hokage..." Hiashi blinked and sipped his tea.

"But he will not ever be a Hyuuga. No matter what he accomplishes, blood will always be thicker than water..." He paused and stared into his glass, "...or wine."

All at once, Hinata realized it. The true reason.

"No..." She whispered suddenly. "No...you can't. You can't do this..."

Hiashi lifted his eyes. They were dead, all emotion evaporated.

"It must be done. You were prepared for this day, and now it has come." Hinata felt herself dissolving.

"Why...why do you do this to me?" She whimpered, "After all I have done to win you're meager attention! After everything I did! Why must you do this! Take away the one thing I could finally call mine?" Her cries mounted as the reality settled over her shoulders, "Why must you seal my son like this? As if he is yours!"

"It was not my choice Hinata. I attempted to convince you that marrying Naruto Uzumaki would undoubtedly end in your suffering, to make it clear that you were sacrificing more than yourself at the expense of an irrational infatuation...but you have always been weak, and you have always disappointed me." He paused, watching her cry.

"You are dishonoring your child with this tantrum. He will become a capable shinobi under Hyuuga guidance...I'm sure some of Naruto's ability must be in his veins. He will not be entirely useless."

"No..." Hinata said, lifting her head, "No...he will be broken. He will be told he will never be good enough for you! Nothing is ever enough! You look at my cousin and see nothing! Nothing!"

"You're sister was enough."

"Only because you whittled her down! Her spirit is gone! I saw her in the hall, she is a shadow of the sister I knew!" Hiashi watched her rise and stare down at him, eyes wet with tears still unshed.

"How could you..." She whispered, anger reduced to intense sorrow, "How could you call yourself our Father, when never once did you love me or her."

"I only want what is best for you and the clan-"

"Then want me!" Hinata cried suddenly, holding her chest. "Want _me_. For all I am, and all I am not! Until you can be happy with that, until you can love what I give to you, you will never have me willingly!" She panted, slowly becoming composed again. She wiped away her remaining tears and for a moment, she appeared distant.

Hiashi surveyed her curiously as she relaxed, closing her eyes and inhaling.

"I thank God for the person I will become." She whispered, "I thank Naruto, I thank Kurenai-sensei. I thank everyone. I even thank you Father."

With that, she departed and Hiashi was left, sitting downcast at his desk. With a sigh, he rose and saw Hanabi waiting expectantly outside his door.

"Was that sister...?" She asked, her voice composed. Hiashi stared at his daughter for the longest time.

He steeled his eye and folded his hands into his sleeves, but for a moment, his reserve wavered.

"Bring me Tetsuya. It is time for you to learn."

* * *

Hinata did not know what she was doing, crossing through the streets in the middle of the afternoon.

She only knew she had to reach the only place she felt she could go, the one place she had ever felt at home.

She climbed the stairs slowly, leaning on the rail, and was thoroughly exhausted by the time she reached the door at the end of the hall.

She knocked. Once. Twice.

Finally, the door opened and a small head peered up at her.

"Hinata-hime?" A pause. "Mama! Someone's at the door!"

"Hai, Hai..." The familiar voice was low and sweet as it approached the door, and Hinata felt herself start crying again.

"Hinata? Hinata-chan, what's wrong?"

Hinata didn't reply, but launched herself into the arms she'd needed to feel around her, those arms she'd always run to, the arms she'd even been sent to. Those arms that had always been willing, no matter what, or who she was, or who she wasn't.

"Kurenai!" She sobbed, burying her face in her former sensei's shoulder. "Kurenai what am I going to do?"

**

* * *

**

**Thank you all for reading!  
Please review before you fave!**

xoxoxo,  
Spoons


	12. In which Hinata gets lost in the crowd

**(Disc: BLAH)**

**Moonstruck**

_Secret forces are responsible for bringing compatible spirits together._

- I Ching

_"How have you been lately?" _Naruto shrugged and slurped a noodle.

"Eh." Hinata smiled into her water and tried not to stare at the boy next to her. She felt somewhat...comfortable. Ever since they'd spent that month pouring over her destroyed garden, Hinata could safely say she could actually speak to Naruto Uzumaki without stuttering.

Well, mostly.

"How is...Sasuke-san?" Hinata watched her finger collecting droplets of water from her glass as Naruto finished another mouthful of ramen. Sakura had asked her to talk to him; as a favor.  
Apparently Hinata had a decent ability to get Naruto to talk about things. Well, not things, but his feelings. The real ones at least.

Even more apparent was that Naruto was quite the master of disguises most days.

"Bastard, as usual." Naruto breathed, leaning his elbows on the table. Hinata felt her heart leap a little in her chest as he peered up at her from between his arms, "He won't talk. They've still got him incarcerated."

"Have you spoken?" Hinata probed, delicately treading on unfamiliar ground. Naruto looked back down at the wood of the counter.

"I don't know what to say to him. Nothing I say will make him do anything."

"That's not true Naruto." Hinata whispered, "Your words mean a lot to many people." The young man chuckled, but Hinata caught the slight tension in his smile.

"I don't want to talk about Sasuke. Maybe next time, ne?" He drawled, stretching his arms before turning on his stool and jumping down to the dusty road. Hinata shook her head and stared at her glass while Naruto dealt out the money, throwing it on the table.

"Gomen Sakura-san." She murmured counting the money mentally, making sure Naruto was tipping properly. When she was satisfied she finally slid down and Naruto grinned.

"Coming or not?" He asked as she walked carefully towards him.

"Of course." Her voice was always so soft. You had to really listen to hear her sometimes. Naruto liked that. That you had devote your attention to her, to hear everything she wanted to have you hear. Sakura yelled a lot, whined a lot, emoted a lot. Hinata...well, typically she wasn't like that.

It was strange. Sakura had been gone in the refugee camps outside of Sand for months helping Gaara and the rest with the incoming stream of stranded individuals. And then Sasuke.

He just walked in. Like he freaking owned the place. Naruto's face darkened as he walked beside Hinata, hands caught behind his head, both of them weaving through the nighttime crowds and shops and stalls. Still, he hadn't been completely alone.

Naruto stole a glance at the girl walking near him. Her long indigo hair was caught behind her head in a rare ponytail, the front still hanging in her face as it always did, bangs neatly trimmed, clothes immaculate as usual. Her pale hands were folded in front of her and for a fleeting moment she smiled as two boys ran, shouting past them. How long had it been since that summer day he destroyed her garden? Six months?

How many hours had she been on his mind? Too many for Naruto to count. It seemed no matter what he did, it all boiled back down to him, and her.

Sakura had left. Sasuke had come back. Kakashi came and went as he pleased.  
But Hinata...Hinata was a constant.

Naruto smiled to himself and kept walking.  
He liked that about her.

"Do you know Fujiwara Ume?" Hinata looked up suddenly as Naruto asked the question, now shoving his hands into his pockets.

"No." She replied, slightly bewildered at the spontinanity of the question. Naruto chewed on his toothpick from the Ramen stand and looked at her.

"I went on a date with her last week." A foxy grin erupted across his face and Hinata kept her face surprisingly neutral.

"Did it go well?"

"Can you define well?" Naruto said, deflating slightly. If you had asked him why, he wouldn't have been able to answer...perhaps it was because Ume had just wanted to suck up to the future Hokage, or maybe, perhaps, it was because _she_ didn't seem bothered. As usual. Everything he did with other girls, she only gave a neutral, well thought answer. She gave good advice, told him what she thought, even told him what was wrong a few times, but whenever it came to girls she just seemed to go on autopilot.

She laughed, musical and lilting, a sound he was getting really used to, a sound he was starting to miss when she wasn't around.  
It had taken a lot to figure out Hinata's formula for laughing, for smiling, for blushing, but as months and days and really long conversations of nothing but him talking wore on, Naruto had started getting it right more and more often.

And she always knew how he ticked; always. She never missed a detail, always knew the answer before he asked. Knew the question too.

Naruto smiled at her.

"Well...did you like her?" She continued, still walking near him. Neither acknowledged the hushed whispers behind hands as they strolled, her hands still folded, his in his pockets.

"Nah." Naruto said seriously, "I don't like any of them really." He glanced at her and she caught his eye.

"What...about you?" His voice was a bit lower than usual, and he cleared his throat as she stared at him before looking back at the ground.

"No one really asks about me." She said surely, a shy smile on her face. He kicked a rock, "I don't usually make myself noticeable, though."

"But I thought you were still training...for your Dad and stuff. Isn't that your goal?" She laughed again.

"Oh no. I want to be strong...but that doesn't mean I want to be in the limelight." Her face shined under the streetlights as she looked at Naruto, that quiet happiness still lingering in her eyes.

"Oh." Naruto said, staring at the pearly glow she gave off. They stopped walking, having come up to the front of the Hyuuga compound, the smell of the river still hanging in the air.

Fireflies flickered sleepily, still shaking off winter as Konoha's early spring set in, and above the moon shone high and round in her cloudy cradle.

"Are you going to be here the rest of the week?" Naruto called out as she walked towards her home, stopping briefly to turn over her shoulder.

"Hai."

Naruto smiled.

"Good. Can I see you tomorrow?" She nodded.

"Same time as usual." He laughed and kicked the dirt.

"Alright." He turned and waved as he walked away.

Hinata touched her heart through her shirt as she watched him go, the world shifting round her.

It was beautiful to be in love.

* * *

_Two Months Later - Late March _

They were crowding the street. Jealous, ugly girls with a bone to pick with Hinata Hyuuga. How dare she monopolize all the time there was to spend with Naruto? Honestly, he was one of the most eligible men in Konoha. They'd been watching her patiently for months, waiting for him to make a move, but Naruto was either unaware or uninterested in the obviously _desperate_ girl that followed him around.

Disgusting. Ume Fujiwara was done. If she couldn't have Naruto, then no one, especially that diddling mess of a _girl_ could. Honestly, once that Haruno had finally left she'd thought that she and some of the other equally irked single woman might have a chance, but no.

It didn't matter though, Ume thought, casually twirling a piece of long chestnut hair. Her hawkish eyes watched, set in an icy glare as the two chatted on the other side of the street, Hinata innocently inspecting fruit and placing it in a netted bag she used to see Naruto carrying for himself.

Bitch. Thinking he was all hers. Ume's eyes narrowed.

She'd show that Hyuuga she was twice the woman, any day.

_"Ne...Nana-chan...Do you see how that Hyuuga girl is wearing her hair? So outdated."  
"Hai. Naruto probably thinks it's ugly, but is too nice to tell her."_

Hinata felt her hand pause on her fruit. She could see, out of the corner of her eye the two girls leaning in, talking in their harsh, easily heard whispers nearby. She blinked, took a breath and continued feeling peaches for Naruto. He always had this knack for picking bad fruit, and after watching him pick the worst ones time after time, Hinata, for the sake of his health, had finally taken the small matter into her own hands. Besides, when Naruto wasn't concentrating on fruit he had more time to tell her things. About his days, about his training, dashes of how he was feeling now and then. Even the occasional update on Sakura or his progress with Tsunade...

_"Do you think he's just keeping her around out of pity?"  
"It must be because he's too nice to admit he doesn't even think of her that way."  
"What way?"  
"Like a girl. Like a woman."_

Ume watched in satisfaction as Hinata stopped feeling fruit again, this time keeping her eye securely downcast. She knew how the girl worked. Be subtle, intelligent. Bring up points that could be plausible, things that could possibly be true and boom. You were inside her head as easily as if she'd let you in. Hinata's poor self esteem only made it easier and more fun to head straight for the throat.

_"He probably thinks her a burden or something. A bother...or maybe he just thinks of her as a pet. Something he can keep around for fun."  
"But what would that do to his image? If he wants to be Hokage...and all this time he's sacrificing how he really feels. It must be so troublesome."  
__"Well, if Naruto is serious about being Hokage, or as serious as he says...then there's no room for a weak, poor mannered puppy dog on a short leash, now is there? Who in their right mind would want_

"_Hai. Poor Naruto-kun."_

Hinata felt her heart slide into her stomach.

She wouldn't deny it. She'd been thinking about it for much too long to deny it. What if...what if she really was a bother? Sure, he asked her to come a long, but if he needed to, would Naruto really have the guts to tell her she was...was...not right? Her hand tightened momentarily. No. Of course not. Naruto would never be able to tell her. He probably didn't even realize...but she was wasn't she? Or maybe those girls were right. Maybe, all this time, Naruto had been holding back how he really felt...all because of her.

She was a detriment. She didn't want to be that...to be baggage. She swallowed stiffly.

But what if he...should find...that maybe...

Her heart raced. No. She couldn't tell him that! What if he got angry with her? Told her she wasn't right. Hinata didn't know if she could do that, and the basic idea of causing Naruto any kind of mental anguish already had her head spinning. Hinata could think of a million reasons, hell, she could stand over there and converse with those girls right now if she had the courage too. Which she didn't. She never did. Not even with Naruto...there.

She wasn't cute like Sakura or Tenten. She wasn't absorbed in work like they were either. She was the oddball. He'd even told her she was weird, hadn't he? She wasn't flirty like Ino or Ume or the countless number of girls. She didn't go to parties, or drink often.

She spent most of her time trying to fulfill the wishes of her Father.

And up until now her only personal happiness was Naruto. Naruto. He brought light into the world, lit it on fire. Made her laugh, made her smile, and made her feel alive. He made her so...happy. But at what expense might that come? She wasn't strong enough to be beside him.

No. Those girls were right. She didn't deserve it, and she had been selfish and bound by the happiness that he gave her.  
She wasn't right for him, and Hinata knew she never would be.

And in those moments Hinata felt as though a brick had dropped on her.  
Because it hurt.

It hurt more than any rejection. Any fall or any failure.

It hurt so much she couldn't even scarcely breathe, or even see due to the tears.  
She'd built a beautiful house of cards these past months, but with one tiny stream of words, they'd all come floating, tearing down.  
In the end, it had only been a house of cards after all. She was stupid. So, stupid and silly....and maybe her Father had been right.

She had fallen for him, finally. Fallen completely and utterly, and it had all been much, much too late. She hadn't even noticed until now just how deep she was in.

So deep, she'd never get back out. And it froze her heart for a moment to come to the point where she understood that Naruto would probably never know, and if he did, he would never be as happy with her as someone else.

And her selfishness was going to hurt him in the end.

To have your heart broken, to realize that there is nothing you can do to stop the pain of loving someone without them ever being able to love you back, and even if they did, to never be truly as happy with you, is something you can't hide easily.

And Naruto noticed.

"Hinata?" Hinata became instantly aware of the hand on her forearm and the sight of Naruto looking down, concerned, made her heart thump wildly.

"I'm fine!" She yelped, jerking her arm away from him, sending herself tripping backwards. "I'm f-fine...so...so" She couldn't finish very well, stuttering a mess, her dark hair shielding her eyes as she thrust the fruit into Naruto's arms.

"Hina-chan, are you ok?" He still felt the shock of her arm tearing away from his grip, watching as she tripped over herself, turning to get lost in the market-goers. He cursed, craning his head before dropping the fruit and running after her.

_"Hey, Ume-chan...What just happened?" _Ume looked on as the blonde young man took off into the crowd.  
_"I don't know."_

"Hinata!" He yelled, and Hinata stopped running, all too aware that he had caught up with her. Shielding her face with the crook of her arm, she looked away from him, feeling as his arm snagged her jacket, pulling her off towards an alley, away from the bustle of the street. When they'd reached the shade of the buildings, Hinata found herself being pushed in front of him, his rough hands gripping her shoulders.

"What's the matter? Why on earth are you crying?" Naruto's eyes searched her all over for any sign of injury but he found none, only her arm still hiding her face. With a sigh he started prying it down, away from her eyes, "Hinata...why did you run like that?" He asked, gently lifting her head. She sucked in a stuttered breath, but didn't speak.

"Come on Hina, honestly. You can tell me anything! Was it something I did, or said? What can I do...please?" He begged, stooping down a little, to get her attention. She looked away.

"There isn't a-anything you could do Naruto." She whispered, staring at the ground. Naruto drew back, a frown etched on his features.

"You won't know till I try, and I can't try until you tell me what the hell is the matter." He stated, still firmly holding her shoulder and arm to keep her from making a break for it. His face softened at her distress, "Hinata, you always listen to me. Let me listen to you too, please? I want to help you, whatever that whole thing was." Hinata looked up at him, eyes swimming.

"Why?" She said quietly, watching the confusion spread over his features.

"What do you mean why?" He replied, still staring at her.

"Why...w-why me?" Her murmur was almost desperate as he peered down into her snowy face.

"I...I don't know why." He said finally, the pause hanging between them about to break in on itself. Her face took a look of deep regret and she put a hand to her mouth, turning away. His grip on her shoulders tightened, "But it's been bothering me, you know." He continued, making her squeeze her eyes shut, tears leaking out, "I don't know why, Hinata. I don't know why I always feel like the only place I can be right now is with you. I don't get it at all. You're constantly in my head, and no matter how I try, it all comes back to you."

"N-no it doesn't... It doesn't Naruto." She protested, shaking her head, "S-Sakura will be back in a few weeks...a-and Sasuke..." She started trembling under his fingers and Naruto shook his head too, only his was trying to get his point across.

"No, Hinata it isn't...God..." He finally laughed, letting go of her to lean against the brick wall, rubbing his face with a dark hand. "I wish it were that simple." He said weakly folding the other arm across his chest. Hinata opened her eyes and looked at him, a picture of troubles.

"Naruto...if I left would you find me?" She suddenly asked, the words tumbling off of her tongue, "I-if I left...l-like Sasuke...w-would you look for me? W-would you follow me?" Naruto let his eyes open in disbelief. What was she implying?

"Of course! I'd follow you to the ends of the earth! And I bet you'd be twice as hard to find! What are you even talking about? You're not planning on leaving are you?" He said, and for a split second she laughed through her tears.

"N-no! No. Naruto. I...I just wanted to know _why_." Her eyes, now a bit drier, a bit more stable, looked up into his as she heaved a breath. "I would n-never leave you Naruto-kun. N-never." She smiled a bit more, "This is so odd...I thought I...I-i could just l-let you go...but now, now I can't."

"Hinata..." She shook her head, rubbing her eyes.

"You still don't get it do you?" She said, her voice a little weaker than before, a little more exasperated. She stopped rubbing her eyes and looked straight up at Naruto, her face all pink from crying and swallowed, "...You still don't understand just how much I love you."

Naruto was struck dumb. He found himself sinking back into the stone wall as he stared at her. His hands were shaking? Why were his hands shaking?

"Y-you...y-you love me?" He questioned, his voice breaking at the end bit. Hinata blinked and nodded.

"For a very, _very_ long time."

"W-what...w-why? How?" He asked again, his hands falling loosely to his sides, "How could you love me? I mean...I'm nothing but trouble, and I definitely don't know how to treat girl's right!" He rambled, eyes wide as dinner plates, "I'm a regular mess, really! I haven't got a clue what I'm even _doing_ half the time! You...I mean...Sakura says...and you know how I can't do anything right!"

The watery smile that lit up Hinata's face was enough to get him to stop though, too fascinated with her to keep going.

"This is very simple, Naruto-kun." She said, so quiet he had to really stop and listen to every word, "You make me happy."

Naruto had more than enough friends. He had met people from all over the Shinobi world, he had grown close enough to some to call them brothers even...but never, in all his life, had Naruto ever been told that he made someone happy.

And he meant Naruto. Just plain old, messed up, klutzy, knuckleheaded, stupid most of the time, totally out of the loop Naruto.  
No training. No self examination. No nothing.

Zip. Nada. Zilch.

He didn't even have to work at it. He _made_, Hinata Hyuuga, _happy._ He made her _happy._ Happy, as in, according to the dictionary, to be delighted, pleased or glad over a particular thing or person.

And that person, by God, was him. Naruto Uzumaki. Not Naruto the teammate, not Naruto the future Hokage and not just Naruto the shinobi. Just, plain old Naruto, with all that stuff included.

"Me?"

"Yes."

Naruto couldn't keep the smile off of his face as everything slowly clicked into place.

"So that's what it is..." He said simply, staring at the girl in front of him. The girl, the prettiest thing he would ever remember seeing, the one who was so quiet and cute. The one who twirled her hair, the one who daydreamed, the one who took pictures and planted gardens and quite honestly kicked ass. The one who listened and was bright and the one who had a strange taste for candy. The one who thought thunderclouds were pretty, the one who was patient, and kind, and so willing.

This girl. This _girl_, this _being. Not Sakura. Not Sasuke, not Kakashi._ Not that they didn't hold special places in his heart either, because they did...but Hinata. Hinata did something none of them could ever do so well.

"What is it?" She asked, looking both concerned, but also ultimately relieved. Like a million weights had finally lifted away from her chest. Naruto smiled and took a step towards her, his blue eyes lit up like sparks in the dim light of the alley.

"...you make me happy too."

To this day, Hinata doesn't know what it was. Probably the charge in her heart as she stared up at the one person she'd ever found herself loving.

She didn't know why, but she did.

Hinata Hyuuga, the shy one, the oddball, the girl who hadn't so much as touched Naruto, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with all she had.

Because, she figured...

...it would make both of them happy.

**

* * *

  
One of my favorite Chapters.**

**Please review!**

**Xoxo,  
Spoons**


	13. In which Hinata rips out a drawer

**(Disc: I OWN NOTHING…not even the Sake in his desk…)**

**Moonstruck**

_The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become._

- Charles Dubois

_Kurenai's house smelled like coffee. _It always had; that thick rich smell that always permeated through her furniture and her clothes.

It used to smell heavily of cigarette smoke, but it appeared as though that had not lingered for very long after Asuma's death. Hinata, after being gently guided to the familiar couch, was enveloped in it upon sitting down.

She breathed in and out, still shaking as Kurenai shooed her small son Ryu out of the way and pressed the tea into Hinata's waiting hands. Once she was seated close by she took a deep breath and stared at her student with sympathy.

"Sakura told me you night need me...smart girl." Kurenai smiled consolingly at a weepy-eyed Hinata and ran her fingers through the girl's hair, tucking it behind her ears, "She contacted me ahead of time and told me everything in case you showed up in a messy state." Hinata sniffled and put the tea on the low coffee table, putting her head in her hands. Kurenai's eyes softened and she gathered Hinata's head into her own palms, stroking the long strands of dark indigo that fell over her legs.

"There, there little girl. It's going to be ok." She whispered, touching the nape of Hinata's neck with the pads of her fingers.

"H-how could I." Hinata murmured, "How could I do this? Agree...a-agree to this?" Kurenai continued her soft touches and stared at the floor before emitting a sigh.

"Sometimes Hinata, sometimes there are things that we have to do. Not as kunoichi, but as people. As women. As lovers." Hinata lifted her head slightly and gazed at Kurenai. The woman glanced down into Hinata's eyes and continued slowly, "You did it because you had to." Hinata shook her head in disagreement.

"No. No I could have found another way."

"I wish you could have found another way." Kurenai replied, lifting Hinata's head, rubbing away a tear with her thumb, "I wish with all my heart that it could have been different for you." She murmured still staring at Hinata.

"There is a line Hinata, a very fine line between happiness and duty and we have to cross it sometimes because it's what we must do."

"But _why_?" Hinata begged, putting her hand on her teacher's arm, "_Why?_" Kurenai gave one last smooth of Hinata's cheek before dropping her hand back to her own lap.

"Because Hinata, for children to even be an option you had to give them up. For there to even be the possibility of you building happiness with Naruto you had to forfeit them. In the end, you chose Naruto because if you were with him, there would always be another way. Another chance. If you had stayed submissive to your family you would have died. You would have been married off and no promise in the world would have changed their minds. At least with Naruto, at least there, you had the freedom to _choose_ if you had children or not." Hinata's vision swam.

"Was it...was it really that unbearable? Was I really so weak?" She said, staring at the pale hands in her lap.

"Hinata, there are things you will come to find about your clan that are far worse than any curse seal. You will learn just how deeply rooted their control remains in Konoha."

"But Naruto." Hinata said suddenly, pulling her head up in desperation, "Naruto swore to me he'd change it!" She cried, "He promised me that things would be different. That he would do everything in his power - " Kurenai put a hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"He _has_ done everything in his power, Hinata. He has reformed as many laws and policies as he can, but there are some things that even Naruto cannot change in one generation. It will take years before the Hyuuga will be able to call them changed. The elders are far too concerned with the sake of tradition to allow him much elbow room anyway. They still find the Hyuuga a crown jewel of Konoha's society. "

"They're going to seal him Kurenai. They're going to cage him, like a bird." Hinata whispered touching her stomach through her dress. Kurenai felt sadness swell through her heart as she caught Hinata in her embrace.

"You have to be strong enough." She said firmly, squeezing her pupil, praying strength might flow through her skin and into her, "You _have _to be strong enough for him. You cannot ever be weak, you cannot ever give up no matter how much it hurts you."

"I don't know how..."

"You will." Kurenai said and Hinata felt a glimmer of hope, "You are stronger then you could ever imagine Hinata, and no one is more proud of who you will become then me. You're not alone anymore Hinata. You have so much support behind you; things are so much different than when you were young. But I know Hinata, how it feels." Kurenai laughed a little to herself, "No one knows better the feeling of wanting to give up than me." She withdrew from her student and Hinata raised her head to gaze at her teacher as she stared out the window, curtains fluttering with the cool air.

"There are times Hinata, that I look at him and I want to run away. That I feel as though everything is crashing down on me and I can't go on staring at his face without seeing Asuma." Kurenai's voice was so quiet as she spoke that Hinata felt as though something else had ignited besides her heart, some other connection being forged in secret. That was the trouble with Hinata. She was so aware of herself internally that outside forces caused more trouble than they were worth. Kurenai didn't sense the shift, but only continued, "But it doesn't take much for me to regain that strength. Nothing in the world will make you want to live more than a child, and you'll realize it Hinata. You'll realize that it isn't about you anymore, and how you feel. It all gets turned to them. You live for them, you breathe for them, and you fly for them when they're wings are clipped." She smiled at Hinata and touched her cheek. "You do everything and then some, and pray that they turn out half as good as you know they will. It's going to be difficult, and you're going to feel more broken than ever, but Hinata, you are luckier than I ever will be." Kurenai suddenly looked over at her surrogate daughter and her face lit up into a smile.

"You have Naruto." Hinata's breath caught abruptly in her throat.

"Does he know?" Kurenai felt her face falling slowly.

"You...you decided to not tell him. At the time...circumstances made it next to impossible." Hinata shifted in her seat and looked at her teacher. Kurenai smiled a little, though it wasn't as encouraging as she might have hoped. "I wouldn't put anything past him though," She continued, carefully, "Naruto notices a lot more than a lot of people give him credit for."

Hinata nodded, swallowed and touched her forehead, tracing invisible patterns across her skin.

"Do you think...do you think he'll hate me when he finds out?" Kurenai stared at the window, eyes pouring over the rough face carved among the past, rugged and triumphant and more powerful than she deemed possible. She shook her head.

"No. I don't think it's even possible for that to happen." Hinata nodded. Kurenai looked at Hinata's face, the flickers of emotion playing against her skin in unique and well thought displays. They pulled from sadness until, slowly, the light began to fade from her eyes. A change washed over her, and Hinata appeared, in this light, older. The youngness of her face was replaced by the adulthood Kurenai swore she'd never get used to. Her eyes were dull, and the emotion was rapidly receding. Kurenai watched in apprehension as Hinata turned her own words over into her head, the silence hanging heavy in the air.

Hinata broke the quiet, lurching Kurenai from her own mind.

"Kurenai, I still don't know what I'm supposed to be doing here...in this place. I know there's something, some meaning to it all, but I can't figure it out for the life of me. It's like," Hinata paused, laughing as her hand rubbed her fair complexion, "It's like someone's testing me...or trying to tell me something. I only know it isn't coincidence that it happened. That it's not as simple as a defense. I think it's got something to do with Kiyoshi..." She murmured, and Kurenai turned to her student; she was running a cautious hand over the surface of the table. The garnet eyes widened a little as Hinata touched the glass of tea, "I don't think I'm going to get back."

"What are you talking about, Hinata?" Hinata smiled, but let her finger continue their search over the glass, eyes wide and captivated by the delicate movements. She thought of her words carefully before letting them out slowly, hesitantly.

"I think this is the last part. This...this pain. I think it's why I'm here. It's the reason I can't go yet."

"Hinata?" The beautiful woman stood up slowly, shifting her weight, hands touching her midsection tenderly as she moved to the door, opening it gently. She stood between the apartment and the rest of the world, her face solemn and bright. "I understand now." Hinata turned her head over her shoulder and Kurenai lost her breath.

The little girl who stood there; the little girl Kurenai knew. Overwhelming fear engulfed the woman as she stood shakily, her leg clumsily hitting the coffee table.

"H-Hinata!" She said, reaching out for the woman in blue. Hinata smiled, but it was alien, as though a new force had worked its way into the threads of Hinata, shining through in their adversity. Hinata continued her smile, and gently touched Kurenai's door with her hand.

"If I lose myself Kurenai, if I slowly become something else, I still love you. I love you with all my heart Kurenai."

And with that, Kurenai was left standing alone, the passage like a blow of the wind. Here and gone, as easily as the rain spattering the windows.

Kurenai felt a tear hit her face as she watched the door close. The familiar feeling made her want to wretch; a man stood in the doorway smiling, Smokey and beautiful.

The feeling sat heavy, so heavy and metallic in her that she put a hand over her mouth.

The feeling of saying goodbye.

* * *

Hinata couldn't begin muddle through the emotions that were coursing through her mind. Rain hit her head with laughing plops, but she didn't truly notice. She was walking slowly along the wall, climbing the gentle summit towards the house she had come to love in only a matter of weeks, her heart beating erratic, anxious rhythms.

She wasn't afraid of telling Naruto. She knew, in her heart, that he most likely wasn't ignorant, just like Kurenai had said. He wasn't stupid, and her Father was never less than coarse with him.

She was certain Hiashi had told him exactly what was going on, if only to rub salt in an old wound. It would be uncharacteristic of her Father otherwise. Hinata shook her head, pushing the thoughts from her mind as she strolled, hand running along the wall that guarded the outer portion of the road. She was so consumed by her own thoughts she didn't realize that something, or _someone, _was rocketing along the wall at a speed closely matched by lightning.

And once Rock Lee started running, it took a lot for him to stop.

Hinata felt the tremble in the wall and looked up, suddenly shaken from her dreamy state and blinked, looking around. It sounded like thunder, but soon the sound of feet slamming into stone reached her ears. Without much more warning, Hinata scrambled back from the wall watching as a blur of green streaked past and then the high pitched voice of a very familiar friend.

"HINATA-Chan!" Bits of rock chipped away as Lee skidded to a halt, his feet practically sending up sparks. Hinata watched in wide-eyed stupor as he brushed aside a chunk of the wall with his foot and then leapt to the street, jogging towards her. Hinata's stupefied blinking continued as they man approached, smiling encouragingly as he did so.

"Hinata-Chan, the words they say are not rumors! You have indeed blossomed with the youthful seeds of love!" He exclaimed, to which Hinata only felt a bit taken aback, a blush pulsing quickly over her cheeks.

"Ah...H-hello...Lee?" She asked, still unbelieving that Rock Lee was really standing in front of her. He cocked his head and stepped forward, looking at her quizzically.

"Hai!" He shouted and Hinata jerked her head a little, waking up a bit. She smiled and it seemed genuine, which made Lee relax more.

"Lee-san... you grew your hair out." She said softly, hoping he wouldn't hear. He nodded, brow furrowing.

"Eh...Gai-sensei said I should...you know...find myself. 'Youthfulness is in one's own heart, and therefore I should extend my heart to the fullest!'" Hinata chuckled; it was so like Lee to take everything literally, and the short tail of his hair was no exception. She felt warmth spread through her though, and the chill of earlier ebbed a bit from her heart. Just seeing Lee's enthusiasm always made her smile.

"I like it. It looks...good. Lee-san, what were you doing just then?" She questioned to which Lee threw up his hands.

"Sixty-four laps from roof to wall! Then I am allowed to check in after my mission!" He proclaimed, and Hinata just shook her head, unable to quit grinning. He looked tired, but it was only evident in the droop of his eyes and the silent heave of his chest. She looked at the boy who Neji had once scorned for his inabilities and now commended for his strength. The gap between Neji and Lee was enormous, and yet Lee surpassed Neji in ways Hinata thought no one might have at one time in her life. As much as Neji might hate himself for it, he had always occupied Hinata's admiration for his abilities, no matter how shallow that admiration might have been.

Hinata looked at the boy who was now chattering about her condition and how she was 'a beautiful mountain lily full of life and youth' and this and that and thought deeply about the likes of Lee.

"Lee, how do you do it?" She asked finally, "How do you be so strong despite what you can't do?" Lee stopped and stared at her, his hands falling to his sides. His softer side took over and he looked at the sky and then back at Hinata.

"Gai-sensei always told me when someone is born without sight they hear, when they cannot hear they see. I am somewhat blind and deaf, so I feel everything with my heart, and I take whatever they throw at me without any hesitation." He gazed at Hinata levelly, as though he was somewhat aware of why she had asked, his eyes flickering towards her stomach, "When one is limited, even without their consent, it doesn't limit what you can become. No one can put a tie on the future. That is why I must always keep improving, always keep going; if I stop, I am within the boundaries they have set for me and then I will never prove them wrong!" He grinned, "I cannot ever let that happen! I must always feel with my heart, even if it means I must get tired!"

Hinata stared in awe at the person she could truly say exceeded every expectation and truly acknowledged her beyond her own team and Naruto. He would often come up to her at the compound and tell her of Neji's accomplishments and his goals and tell her that she too could do whatever she liked. There was certain chemistry between herself and Lee; drawn together because of their weaknesses, and now even stronger together because of what they had overcome. Something in her heart told her that Lee had become someone very dear to her through the years, and so it was without any sort of anxiety that she reached forward and took his tightly bound hand in her own.

"Thank you Lee. Thank you." She murmured, squeezing his palm. What he had told her, his words...they were exactly what she had needed to hear. Part of the ever-growing lesson she was learning. If she gave up, if she refused to listen to her heart and feel the way Lee did, then there was no hope. But as long as she kept smiling, kept pushing, never gave up; then there was all the chance in the world and more. Hinata decided then, and there that it really didn't matter what her Father thought of her, as long as people like Lee kept speaking to her, kept counting her as something, then there was no need for his approval. She knew what she had to do, and she knew she couldn't delay any further. There was no more room for lack of confidence; her very life may very well be resting precariously on her performance if all she understood about her situation was true. After a moment, Lee flushed a little and gently squeezed it back before pushing it back towards her.

"Naruto would not appreciate me soiling his precious flower." He said and Hinata could only laugh in response, a quiet, lilting one she had not shown to many people.

"I'm sure Naruto wouldn't mind. You are very dear to both of us Lee...please do not forget that." He smiled again, beamed and nodded.

"YOSH! I must continue my training as to be worthy of Konoha's Greatest Hokage and his youthful family!" Hinata smiled. 'Family' the word had a nice ring to it. Naruto's family. She waved as Lee saluted and leapt upon the wall, throwing his arms behind him and taking off into the growing afternoon. Evening was setting in, the rain having evaporated long before Lee showed up. The trees rustled and Hinata set upon her accent up the hill.

She'd promised Naruto ramen, after all.

* * *

"Maa-ahhhh!" Naruto groaned, shuffling into the kitchen. Hinata smiled and pushed the ramen in front of him as he collapsed down, _almost_ too tired not to eat, but not quite. Hinata sat down with him and picked up her chopsticks, and didn't waste any time. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, determination on her features as she just let it all out.

"I met with my Father today. About the baby." Naruto coughed suddenly and she instantly pushed a glass of water in front of him, expecting his reaction to be somewhat similar. Naruto wheezed and gulped. Truly, it had come as a surprise. Although Hinata had been accepting of her condition, she had never really talked about it with him, and instead both of them had danced around the situation quite uncomfortably. But now, she had sounded so much like her old self that Naruto was shocked. He'd gotten used to shy Hinata, and now it seemed the stronger, but still as compassionate and level headed Hinata was beginning to surface again.

"Y-your Father?" Naruto asked, finally swallowing. Hinata nodded.

"You ok? More water?" Naruto shook his head and blinked before shoveling in more ramen.

"Ah...no...thanks...your Father? As in your Father, Father? About the...you know." He gestured towards her stomach and Hinata looked at him, her eyebrows furrowing a bit.

"Baby?" She answered to which Naruto reddened.

"Yeah. Baby." She stared at Naruto straight in the eye.

"Naruto. You know he's going to seal him." She kept her voice serious as she spoke and Naruto found himself swallowing his food still staring at her, unable to look away.

"Yes." He said finally, and Hinata suddenly became interested in her bowl. He sighed a little and reached out, his hand stopping her shaking chopsticks, "...and we've talked about it. A lot." Hinata stared at the tan hand on her pale one.

"We have?" She asked, not bothering to make anymore eye contact. Naruto smiled. In fact the whole subject had become rather boring over the years, and though Hinata was less than happy, she had managed to accept it with the most fire he'd ever seen her exude.

"Don't worry Hinata. You're not going to let it stop you, and I'm_ still_ trying to figure out the politics running the whole ordeal." Hinata felt relief fill her body, washing over her like huge waves of comfort. She let it out in a long breath and looked back up at Naruto.

"It's always so easy...it's so easy to be with you." She said and Naruto just smiled.

"I try." He said, and Hinata giggled, watching his chest inflate a bit more. He cracked his neck tiredly.

"But it is important Naruto. Things are going to be difficult for them; curse seals are used as tools of submission. You understand that, don't you?" Hinata pressed. Naruto nodded solemnly.

"I haven't forgotten Hina-chan." She stared at the man across the table and he shoved in another mouthful of ramen, and Hinata found the action to be quite ridiculous.

"Naruto...now is not the time for ramen."

"Hina-channnnn" He whined, mouth full of food, eyes weepy, "It's SOOOO good! And I'm so tired...I just want some sake and then-" Hinata raised an eyebrow.

"I got rid of all the Sake Naruto." She stated softly, "Kiba made me throw it out." Naruto looked at her in fright.

"OH...yeah, that's um...yes. You're very right. No Sake. In the house." He shoved more and more ramen in his mouth and Hinata found herself growing suspicious.

"Where is it Naruto." He shrugged, shaking his head.

"I mo mo..." ( I don't know ) He said shrugging his shoulders, "I mo mo what you're malking about..." Hinata put down her chopsticks and crossed her arms.

"Naruto. This is important...I don't want any alcohol in the house. If I have to give it up, you do too. Now tell me where so I can throw it-" Hinata stopped, staring at the door to Naruto's study. Naruto sensing this, turned around and then whipped his head back to her.

"No!" He shouted, but she was already up, Naruto throwing down his own chopsticks to sprint after her. She quickly dodged him as he attempted to throw her off balance. She shrieked as he grabbed her around the middle, arms hooking over her belly.

"Hinata, stop kicking! I can't hold you- OOOF!" He doubled over as Hinata took off into the study again, digging through his desk.

"Byakugan!" She shouted, and her eyes lit up. The bottle was 'hidden' under some papers in the bottom drawer. Her hand reached out and she grasped the handle and yanked.

It was locked.

"Hahahaaaa! And you don't know where the key is!" Naruto gasped from the background, triumphantly holding his fist. Hinata shook her head and fought the smile on her face.

"This is serious Naruto." She said quietly, "Open the drawer." He refused.

"Kakashi told me if a man loses his liquor he's whipped! I am Hokage, I am not WHIPPED!" He cried and Hinata just laughed.

"Oh yes you are Naruto." And in one fatal swoop she ripped the drawer clean out of the desk, the lock tearing from the wood like a piece of aluminum foil. Naruto felt his jaw drop to the floor as Hinata held up her spoils, a peculiar gleam in her playful eyes, "And I don't care what Kakashi says."

"Where did you learn that!" He shrieked, staring at his desk drawer dangling off of her finger. She smiled.

"Lee taught me a few things." She said, taking out the sake and throwing it out the open window where it landed on the patio and shattered.

Naruto shook his head.

"You shouldn't have done that." He growled, "You shouldn't have done that at all." Hinata felt fire ignite in her stomach.

"Why not? I'm not afraid of you." She said simply, hands folded. Naruto leapt forward, over the desk and pushed her up against the fall wall, still being especially cautious even within his realm of incredible sexiness. A few books fell to the floor as he smirked and Hinata's heart sped up. She'd never seen Naruto like this.

But ohhhhhh had she thought about it.

His blue eyes were dark and tinged with deepness that made Hinata's whole body shudder. He leaned up against her his hands on either side of the wall and stared at her.

"You don't want to know."

Hinata felt her heart slide to her knees as he drawled it out in his rough voice.

That's it.

If that arm being ripped off didn't kill her, then Naruto certainly would.

By the time his lips touched hers, she was as good as dead.

**

* * *

**

**Thank you so much for reading!  
Please review!**

xoxo,  
Spoons


	14. Which leads to Gin

**(Disc:** **Hindi ko sariling anumang bagay – thanks to free web translators)**

**Moonstruck**

_"Just like a star cross my sky, just like an angel off the page, just like a song in my heart, just like oil on my hands…only to love you."_

- Like a Star: Corinne Bailey Rae

"_N-naruto…"_ _somewhere between her collar bone and her pulse, the words got lost as Naruto kissed her neck._

"Mmm…" He ignored her blatantly and Hinata braced herself as the kisses continued up her jaw.

"Naruto…r-really, t-this is not the…Ahh…t-time…" Naruto tugged her bottom lip and she was sucked back into a kiss. Her fingers curled uselessly on his shoulders. His breath fanned across her mouth.

"It's the _perfect_ time." He growled huskily and Hinata leaned her head back against the wall; was it just her, or was he picking her up, her legs tieing themselves naturally around his waist? When his tongue rolled its way into her mouth (and Hinata was _beyond _shocked) and everything Hinata had planned on saying kind of fell to the floor, she just about lost her mind. Naruto emitted a strange low sound as his ministrations continued without pause, and to Hinata it almost sounded like the purr of a cat.

"Naruto" She whimpered as he distracted her with his breath, now against her ear. He was pressed against her and his hands had somehow slid so far down Hinata's head was spinning. Fingers tightened against her and she dug her nails into his shirt, panting.

"Just a moment." He said and Hinata's eyes opened against his shoulder. His chest heaved, "Just a moment…I'll be good…just a moment." He repeated and Hinata looked towards his face.

"Naruto?" He opened one eye and Hinata recoiled. Angry red and a deep black slit stared at her from within the white of his eyes; the hands supporting her scratched slightly with elongated nails. He smiled dangerously, sharp tiny incisors making themselves known against the animalistic tone his face had now taken.

"Sorry…got too carried away." He said, still staring at her before closing his eyes and curling his face into her shoulder. He gasped once and his body shuddered, Hinata holding fast to him as he shook before stopping, looking back up with another smile, this one less beast-like. She just stared at him.

"Naruto...?" She asked hesitantly and he leaned in, kissing her leisurely.

"Don't worry yourself…it's just too much emotion." He said softly, and Hinata pushed him back, her hand finding his mouth to push her palm over it.

"Naruto, what was that?" She whispered and Naruto just blinked, big blue eyes looking awfully innocent in the darkness. He slowly lowered her to the floor and Hinata's hand removed itself as he stared down at her.

"You don't know? I never…I mean, well, you kind of told me you'd figured it out…" He touched a lock of her hair, fingers trailing on her cheek. "I thought you'd have known even now, about the Kyuubi."

"Oh!" Hinata exclaimed, throwing her hand to her own mouth this time. Naruto looked worried.

"What? Are you upset? Did I show too much? I mean, I can keep it more in check, I just get so…well, comfortable…" Hinata shook her head violently from side to side and a very interesting sound came out from between her fingers. Naruto pulled his head back, "Hinata, are you…laughing?"

Hinata tried to contain herself; she really did. But she just couldn't help it. The idea that with Naruto's lust was a demon fox just came across as, well, comical. In reality, it probably wasn't really a laughing matter, but Hinata couldn't help it. He had been _purring_.

And, even funnier still was that…that…she'd _liked_ it. She'd known for a very long time about the demon encased within Naruto. It hadn't been hard to understand.

And Iruka had been blunt.

But she didn't know to what extent it went, how much was really fused with Naruto and how much was just sitting useless within him. To her defense, the whole concept of demonic possession seemed hard to get. She didn't really know, and never thought of asking, about how much was fox demon and how much was only seal.

She'd never loved him an ounce less, but it had never truly occurred to Hinata that the demon could possibly show itself.

And never in a wildest dream would it have occurred to Hinata that such an occasion would be so undeniably sexy, and now that Hinata knew why, she just felt herself giggling.

She had been turned on by a fox. Go figure.

"S-sorry!" She laughed, her hand pulling away, another wave of laughter emitting from her body, "I-I knew, I just…!"

"What?" Naruto looked at her defensively. Hinata swallowed a breath and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands, still laughing.

"Oh Kami…" She chuckled, "Oh Kami-sama, I'm into bestiality apparently!" She barely said it, too consumed with the funniness to really stay coherent. She continued to dissolve into hysterics. What on Earth…what on earth would Neji say? Not that it mattered. Oh God, what would her FATHER say?

"I mean, m-me!" She laughed, "I…Oh, Kami…Naruto, don't l-look at me like that!" She said, grabbing his hand as he started to leave, looking irritated.

"Why not? You're making deliberate fun of a very serious thing." He said sternly and Hinata just took one look at his serious face and bit her lip.

"Ah…ah." She whimpered, and Naruto shook his head, "Naruto! Naru-to, stop!"

"You."

More giggling, though eventually she calmed herself, and red-faced and worried he was honestly angry, she squeezed the hand she held.

"Naruto."

"Hinata." She touched his cheek to keep him on the same page and he just looked at her, all stony-eyed. The bare traces of a childish pout were present on his features and Hinata just shook her head internally.

"I'm sorry. But it was…surprising? I did not realize that a demon could have a personality within its container." She said, trying to be straightforward, a tactic that Naruto seemed to appreciate. He didn't truly like sugar-coating things, and Hinata was happy to oblige if it put him at ease. He softened a little under her touch and rolled his eyes back up to hers, pressing them both back up against the wall.

"Old Kyuubi can do more than people give him credit for." He said brushing the hair from her forehead. She felt her eyes lid a little as she touched the back of his neck hesitantly.

"Like…what?" She asked, skimming the bottom of his jaw with her nose, ignoring the dull pangs of butterflies exploding in her stomach. Naruto's chest rumbled with a chuckle.

"Well, he enjoys it when I eat rabbit." Hinata lifted her head.

"No." She said softly, a tiny, quirking smile on her features. Naruto raised his eyebrows.

"Don't believe that?" She laughed and he took her hand, threading his fingers through them. The tension of earlier, the pent up energy that had ruptured so evenly evaporated and Naruto tugged on her, leading her away from the office. Hinata stepped over a strewn piece of paper and followed him as he took her out into the hallway, nudging the door closed with his foot as they left.

"He also makes a great band aid." Naruto said over his shoulder as he led her to the porch, opening the sliding door and pulling her out onto the wooded patio. Hinata's hand burned in his palm and she stopped, halfway through the door.

"What?" Hinata stared at their intertwined hands and shook herself free of the thought.

"Nothing." She replied and stepped fluidly over the threshold and out into the nighttime air. "So…he heals you?"

"I can't exactly die on his watch, no." Naruto said, sitting slowly down with his feet hanging off of the edge of the deck. Hinata sat beside him and felt the fingers slide away, her hands folding themselves automatically onto her lap.

"The stars are beautiful." She mused, staring up at the painted clouds and inky-black smeared by the Milky Way's glistening finger prints.

"Mmm. Sometimes you forget to look." Hinata knew he was referring to being a shinobi and nodded her head in accord. It was true; you spend so much time underneath them you forget they exist.

"Naruto…I'm forgetting." The man turned his head slightly and Hinata was still trained on the stars. Her eyes emitted light of some kind and he was drawn to them like moths. Fireflies floated lazily up from the lawn, gathering in clumps around the bushes towards the back, blinking with sleepiness, and the moon hovered low on the horizon, bathing Konoha head to toe in her beams.

"What are you forgetting Hina-chan? Hinata felt the funny pulse of her heart beneath her clothes.

"I'm going to forget how I got here Naruto." She looked at him now and her hair fell over her shoulder in a smooth waterfall of indigo. She was radiant. She left him star struck, no. Moonstruck. Left him wondering half the time how he ended up with _her_, "It feels like I woke up from a dream and that was it. I'm starting to…remember everything." She raised her eyebrows a fraction.

"If you forget our anniversary in three weeks I'm not going to let you get away with it. I feel like it's been ages since you've taken me out." Naruto looked at her in surprise.

"You remember that?" He whispered. She nodded.

"I remember a lot of things now. Little things." She traced a pattern on the wood and rocked her head. She smiled to herself. "Like that time you surprised me…with the dinner."

"I would have thought you'd want to forget that. It kind of was a disaster." She laughed. It had been. There had been flour in places she didn't know it could get. He'd expected it to be a way to get her mind off of a particularly disturbing mission, but it had ended up being more of a mess than a help. But that was Naruto, and that was what she loved. Messes out of his heart were her favorite kind to clean up.

"Oh no. It's even better the second time." She said with a giggle. Her face was lighter than Naruto had seen it a long time. Peaceful.

"Naruto, I'm losing myself here. A part of me is disappearing and I won't be able to retrieve it unless I leave."

There was a heavy pause.

"What are you saying exactly?" Naruto said, hesitating. He wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to know the answer, he already knew it. Hinata stared at the fireflies beating their wings on the lawn.

"I'm going to have to go."

There was nothing to say on Naruto's side. He wished there was something he could have said, something to help himself and maybe her too, but he knew it wouldn't have worked.

"Not now Naruto. Not until it's finished, and that is going to take a very long time. But Naruto." He felt the hand on his tighten in pain, "It can't go on forever. I wish it would Naruto, but it can't. Not this time at least. This time…this time is going to hurt more. It's going to hurt very badly." Naruto felt something grow in his throat. The thought of losing her. Losing her when? He wouldn't be prepared, even if he did know. He'd never be prepared to lose her. Never. Even if they grew so old he couldn't see her or hear her or feel her. He still wouldn't be able.

It was selfish, but it was always his last wish to go before her; to spare himself the pain and death that would be her own. He wouldn't be able to live.

"I can't say why things turned out this way Naruto, but I do know that it isn't coincidence, and it isn't a dream. I think…I think it's a chance. Because, at the time I came here, I was out of hope for us. I didn't think it ever would happen, and now that it has, I can live the way I have always intended, because now I know it's possible."

"Besides, there's more resting on this than only me. There's my child now too." Her voice dwindled, choking off, "I can't let him fade into nothing. I can't let him be a dream or a memory…I think he's the one that has me here. He doesn't want to be an idea. He wants to exist."

"We'll do it right next time, ne Hina-chan." He said softly and Hinata's head was bowed, their hands still touching. "Next time. Next time we'll do it right."

She gripped his hand so forcefully, as if he was the last tie holding her in.

"Don't ever break that promise you gave me Naruto-kun. Take care of me forever."

Eyes wandered to the fireflies dancing in the moonlight.

"Forever."

* * *

Forgetting was a strange thing.

It happened very fast. Rapidly so.

She woke up beside him and it was like being born again into the very same skin. It was far away, it was shattered glass and a picture frame replaced. Nothing more.

The picture itself stood upright on the dressing table; their wedding photo. Traditional and black and white with the hood surrounding her hair and the black kimono suiting him in a way that made girls like Ume Fujiwara swoon on the spot.

She remembered Ume. She had three children now, a son and a daughter and a little baby boy. Her husband was a strong man and Hinata was glad for them. She remembered seeing her once with the boy and smiling at him and Ume smiling at her.

Peaceful. That was her world. She was soft-spoken and polite and kind and soft. She was a picturesque wife and a horrible daughter and a wonderful lover and friend. It was natural as air and water and Naruto becoming further wrapped around her as he slept.

Silly man.

The incident ebbed away and time moves on because time does not wait for anyone.

And Hinata, with a smile on her face, moved with it towards the sun.

* * *

But Naruto sometimes does not move in time. His beat is off a mark or two. Forged out of silence and solitude, it is syncopated against the rest of the worlds. Which is why, though she nagged and pestered and wrote it down and put reminders anywhere she could, he still forgot.

Hinata did not like sitting in the restaurant by herself. Not because she disliked being alone, because she actually savored it on occasion; especially now.

For reasons she couldn't quite grasp, Naruto had been more than protective. Perhaps it was the small bump just starting to become noticeable or the recent trip to the hospital where Sakura had told both of them the baby was already about the size of their hands spread open. Men don't really get it until you tell them things like that, Hinata supposed. Anyway, it seemed as though there was now an impenetrable line of people surrounding her all the time. Kiba was at the house often, doing things that were both unnecessary and ended up making more messes. Shino often accompanied him and Sora too came to do odds and ends. Mostly, a lot of plant killing was done. She knew (because Naruto was not very subtle) that it was a very odd display of love and devotion, but it didn't detract from the annoying factor.

She'd never forget it when _Sasuke_ got involved.

"_Sasuke, what are you doing out here?"_

_*Sigh*_

"_Watching you." Hinata had felt a drop of sweat slide down the side of her face as he stood there with the ultimate dead-pan expression plastered to his face as she had tried to edge around him._

"_Shouldn't you be…somewhere else?" She asked cautiously as the Uchiha turned and followed along as she made her way down the drive and onto the street. "I mean…what about the police force…"  
"Do you have something I could carry?" Sasuke looked at her with hooded eyes and she just fingered the small cloth bag across her shoulder._

"_A-Ano…Sasuke, it doesn't have anything in it."_

"_Hn."_

"_Sasuke, did Naruto put you up to following me?"_

"_He said you were going 'out' today. He assumed that meant running around the village and into imminent danger."_

"_Danger?"_

"_I believe the terms used were 'steel bear traps' and huge burly criminals who happened to be in the neighborhood, you know, just looking to ravage someone." Hinata was a bit alarmed by the typical Sasuke bleakness and the casual way he referred to truly unpleasant things, but she could also sympathize. Knowing Naruto, he'd probably gone into his head, imagining poorly drawn scenarios where innocent Hinata would be taken advantage of._

_Hinata just deflated as Sasuke passed her up, already heading for the grocery store. "It's either me or Kakashi, and he was told to have a hand on your person at all times just in case."_

And so, heavy objects seemed to disappear from sight and were replaced by the likes of Lee and Sasuke and other such trustworthy individuals who would escort her to the bathroom if she'd let them, which she didn't, and had started using a simple lock on the door.

That was one thing that always got a ninja: something normal. They were so convinced that everything was complicated they spent hours snooping around trying to figure out just how they could get inside under the influence that it was seal or trap or some other crazy ploy. Kakashi had been harder to fool, but he was always appearing out of nowhere regardless of circumstance, although according to rumor, a new coordinator at the hot springs had been holding a lot of his attentions.

"She's a friend, who happens to be a female. I don't see what the fuss is about." The scarecrow had said, tossing back whatever Hinata happened to have made out of boredom. Hinata just rolled her eyes.

"I know! It's not like you're one of the most coveted men in Konoha." She'd replied sweetly to which Kakashi had just stopped eating and given her a look before shaking his head.

"Women."

But at the moment things were a little less than nostalgic. Her nails were tapping the lacquered wood softly, just barely rippling the ice water in her glass.

Six o'clock. She'd told him last night. Six o'clock.

She'd told him that because she knew he'd be late. Their reservations weren't until six thirty.

It was seven.

"Hinata-hime, would you like something small to eat? You must be starving." The chipper waiter approached the table yet again and Hinata smiled as kindly as she could.

"No thank you." She started to stand up and the waiter took the crook of her arm, helping her along. She shook her head and he let her go, looking apologetic.

"I do believe I'll go home and rest, if that's alright. Thank you so much for your kindness. We'll try again next year."

"Hai Hinata-hime, we would all be honored." He bowed and Hinata bobbed her head in accord before leaving with enough dignity to make everyone just stare in awe.

Such grace, even though everyone could tell she was upset by their Hokage's absence. Naruto had been missing out. His wife looked ravishing in swaths of cherry red and rich gold and ivory; the kimono showed off just enough taste of her bump that everyone had been pleased, and she herself had been as beautiful in mannerism as in face.

Yes, their Hokage was truly missing out indeed.

And where was their beloved Hokage? Well, as it is with shinobi men, no one really knew until very, very late that night.

* * *

"Ssssassuke, man, I just…I just don't know how to THANK you." Sakura heard them coming a mile away and felt sheer irritation roll off of her to make the plant near the door wilt. Sasuke came barreling into the front room, Naruto's arm strung over his shoulder, Kakashi trailing behind in a slur of poetry about something, all three of them jumbling together as Sasuke paused in front of his furious wife.

"What the _hell_ are you three doing."

"DRINKING!" She craned her neck around to see Sai was somewhere behind Kakashi, a dimwitted smile and a bottle of cheap beer caught up in his hand. "DRINKING! DRINKING!" He crooned to which Kakashi slapped him in the back of the head.

"Shut UP Sai. Jeeez, you'll wake the baby."

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto exclaimed arms open for an embrace that sent him reeling back onto the floor.

"YOU." Sakura hissed, shoving aside a dazed Sasuke, "Do you have ANY idea what you've done? Hmm?"

"Sorrrrry about that trashcan Sakura-chan." He whimpered, "I'll clean it up t-tomorrow." The dopy smile that crossed his face made Sakura boil.

"Sasuke take this asshole into the living room, and YOU TWO." The dark aura emitting off of her caused even Kakashi to wince as Sai cowered behind his back. "The _nerve_ you had letting him go out with you. You _knew_ that this was the night. The NIGHT. I TOLD ALL OF YOU! Now, get out of my house!"

They both stood there, facing her with blank expressions and she rolled her eyes before slamming two pulsing hands on their foreheads.

"I hope that headache is a bitch!" She growled as Kakashi and Sai sobered up so fast they were left clutching their faces in agony, shuffling out of the Uchiha district like two beaten dogs.

Turning on her heel, the woman made her way to the living room where Naruto was playing with a horribly folded paper airplane made of a medical report and Sasuke was spaced out on the futon, dead asleep.

"Naruto." Sakura sighed, walking over to him. She was too tired to exert any more anger, only disappointment as she quickly pulsed clean chakra into his system, pinpointing it towards his brain and his liver, attempting to process the alcohol at a faster rate, "You are in an incredible amount of trouble."

"Oh God…" Naruto groaned grabbing his temples, "What the hell did I _do_, hit my head with a hammer?"

"Close enough. You missed your date."

"What?"

"Your date. Your anniversary? Ringing a bell?" Naruto's hazy blue eyes squinted in thought before widening in fear.

"OH SHIT!" He cried, jumping up, almost losing his balance in the process, "How the hell did that happen?! I made sure I left work early…and then I saw Kakashi…and…Oh…." He dissolved into a pile of mush as he remembered the simple request for a drink before leaving because Kakashi hated drinking alone because of the packs of fangirls that stalked him through the streets. Then Sasuke then Sai saying that he would be without an important part of his anatomy unless he got drunk. Drunk shitless. And Naruto just couldn't have that. He was not whipped!

It had not ended well, unless you count tequila shots a good thing, which it wasn't.

Kakashi freaking LOVED tequila. (A/N: I actually got this out of a fic…which I can't remember at this moment! D:!! I just remember it was funny and involved Kakashi and tequila, so whoever owns it, cheerios to you!)

"Is she mad?" Naruto asked hesitantly and Sakura helped him move towards the door.

"Worried." Naruto felt his heart break. That was even worse, "Why didn't you at least call idiot? When will it be the day that you bastards actually listen to me?"

"Never." She just shook her head and opened the front door.

"Hurry and get home, she's probably still up. She called half an hour ago. I'll call her and tell her you're on your way."

"Thanks Sakura." She just closed the door and moved for the phone, but paused for a moment next to her husband.

"Sasuke, get up. You reek of gin."

Absolutely nothing, and several attempts later, he was still passed out. So, Sakura resorted to what she was hoping to tell him some other time, but apparently would have to do for now.

"Sasuke, I'm pregnant again."

Two eyes flew open as if they'd never been closed.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading this far :]**

**Please review!**

**xoxo,  
Spoons**


	15. Which leads to an Author's Note

Just a little peek into my head!

Ok, since so many people seem to be dying or dead over this story in confusion, let me just help you all out.

Hinata is in the EXACT SAME PLACE she's been. No change of location! So, don't worry about that.

Hinata was dying. DYING. as in, about to die. Dead. Kaput.

That part of her is dying too. She's here because of reasons I can't explain right now. (I really, really, REALLY want to!!) but to make the story the story I've intended it, it has to stay foggy.

She's alive (HERE) but that other part of her that hasn't gotten 'here' yet isn't.

Does that help? She's still Hinata, but her body Hinata, that mental form of Hinata in the clearing, all the things we know and love about seventeen year old Hinata, hasn't physically entered this part of her life, and it never will (as of now). So she's stuck with what she came with upon arrival (the Hinata she is GOING to be). SHE GETS THIS PART!! :D

The other part is fading away, because it's slowly not existing in the other time.

She isn't here because of Naruto, but Naruto HAD to be there to make it work. It takes two to Tango.

It's like the movie The Family Man.

Do you remember at the end when he talks about the kids they COULD have, and how much he loves them even though they don't exist because he had them then?

It's like that.

Hinata is going to leave this time. She's not, and can't, stay their forever and because she's human she can't even begin to fathom the real reasons motivating what's going on, and things are going to happen to show that eventually, Hinata won't even be in this time.

It's all connected, it's not spontaneous or unthought through. It takes a little faith to understand how this is all going to fall into place, but I'm just asking for a little bit of patience and just enjoy the fluff and nice stuff for right now, because from the responses I'm getting, you are going to FREAK at the end. (Which I've already written, mwuhahaha!)

SO MUCH LOVE AND DEVOTION,  
xoxox,  
Spoons (your humble slave ^-^)


	16. In which there are several meetings

**(Disc: I OWN NADA)**

**Moonstruck**

"_Man does not control his fate. The women in his life do that for him."_

- Groucho Marx

_It was an emergency when Hinata showed up, having eluded several shinobi and a certain former sensei on her way, and Sakura was already at her wit's end._

In all honesty, Hinata had been praying, no, begging for an opportunity to get her mind off of the catastrophe that had been last night. So, when Sakura had made the call that an afternoon convening of the Konoha Wives Club was in order, Hinata had leapt at the chance, and in no time arrived at Ino's sunny little home near the river.

"She won't come out of the bedroom." Sakura grumbled, watching as Hinata eased herself down into the wooden dining chair in Ino's spacious kitchen. She sighed and took the coffee pushed across the tabletop and Haru giggled happily on the floor, pulling apart pots and pans with his little sticky fingers.

"Haru!" Hinata smiled, leaning down to look at the smiling child as his mother disappeared around the corner and towards the bedroom. He instantly peered up at her from beneath his glossy black hair and his dark glassy eyes went wide with delight.

"Ma!" He chirped, pointing towards the passage his mother had just exited. Hinata nodded and smiled at him.

"Hai! Mama went to see Auntie-Ino!" With another long look at the corridor and then a funny little bob of his head, Haru abandoned his pans and shakily stood, using a counter for support and with only the determination of a true Uchiha, began wobbling towards her.

When he finally reached her he was looking very red in the face, but he collapsed on her leg with satisfaction, letting out a small puff of air and looking up at her, his arms extended.

"Up!" He whimpered and Hinata happily obliged, carefully collecting the boy in her arms, his chubby little body leaning on her growing tummy, his pretty little face covered in what looked like jam.

"Haru…" She laughed, wiping up the mess with a napkin left on the table, just as Tenten entered the house, announcing her arrival with the parade of maternal shouts that usually accompanied her wherever she went. Hinata often wondered how someone like Neji ended up with such a nosy, curious little boy.

"Tetsu…Tetsuya! _Tetsuya!_ That is not for touching!"

"Sorry!"

"Tetsuya!"

"_Sorry!"_ Hinata watched in happiness as her little nephew came barreling into the lit kitchen, skidding in his socks and looking free as a bird in his play clothes. She didn't miss the linen wrapped tightly round his forehead and her heart hummed with sorrow. However, she didn't let it show, opting instead to just watch him with a tilted head as he came in dynamically.

"Auntie!" He exclaimed, stopping suddenly in front of her, his wide, pale eyes staring her down. She waved and Haru looked up at Hinata before mimicking the movement.

"Ma!"

Tetsuya's face exploded into a grin as he went forward, wrapping his arms around Hinata's tired-eyed frame. He buried his face in her side, (a very rare gesture of affection) and wormed his way under her arm. Hinata's eyes narrowed in pleasure as she touched his head and planted a kiss on the top of his hair.

"I missed you Auntie." He murmured, raising his head to meet her eyes. Hinata smiled vaguely.

"Missed you too." And he grinned before running backwards, knocking into his mother, who was chatting animatedly with Temari.

"Do you know that Neji is allergic to cayenne? He broke out in hives!" Tenten said, pulling out a chair and slinging the wiggling toddler on her hip into it.

"Really? That's a sign of an allergic reaction? I swear…I thought Shikamaru was faking it last time I cooked." Tenten grimaced and Temari sat down, looking deep in thought, her sea-glass eyes bright in the sun. None of them noticed the dark haired beauty still talking with the baby on her lap in a hushed voice until he let out another single sign of approval as he reached for the napkin again.

"Ma!"

"Hina!" Tenten said, walking over to kiss her practically sister-in-law's cheek and beam, abandoning her squirming daughter for Hinata's shy flush. "It feels like ages! I heard the news, I swear I must have tried to get out of the house a thousand-" All three woman looked up as Tetsuya rummaged through the cabinet Haru had previously been occupying, re-banging around pans.

"Sorry!" Came his weak, but somewhat irritated voice as his mother stared at him before turning back to Hinata with a smile.

"Anyway, but you know, life!" Hinata laughed and rubbed her eyes, the dark circles becoming more apparent as the afternoon sun set in.

"Baby!" Came Hinata's niece's happy laugh as she pointed at Haru enthusiastically. She was a pretty, bubbly thing with deep chestnut hair and wide Hyuuga eyes; but she looked like her mother. Naomi did have Neji's stern brow though, Hinata noted. It was strange how much you saw in a child as they started to grow.

"Yes Nao. That's a baby." Tetsuya responded in a way that was almost reprimanding. He pinched her creamy skin and Naomi yelped with laughter, practically rolling off her chair in her giggles.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" She repeated, making Tetsuya roll his eyes.

"Baby!" Haru looked at her and blinked before returning his interest to the napkin that Hinata had given him to pull apart, not in the least bit interested in Naomi's incessant babble.

"I love this table, it's the perfect height." Temari said with a hiss of approval, setting her legs up on the top of it, earning a laugh and a cluck of distaste as Sakura entered the scene once again.

Tenten gave the frazzled looking woman a once over and raised an eyebrow.

"So, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that today is an emergency meeting because of Miss Thing right?" Sakura just poured more coffee and shook her head.

"She's acting like a diva." She replied making a face at Haru who was now staring at his mother like a hawk. "Hello Ru-Ru! Yes, Hello!" Hinata smiled and Haru went back to his napkin, satisfied that Sakura had returned unscathed.

"Just like his daddy." Temari declared, eyes closed, hair lighting up gold in the sunlight, "A little watch dog." Sakura just laughed and put the remaining mugs on the table, including the one for herself, as she drew up a chair from the corner and sat down, Tenten fumbling through Tetsuya's pockets and producing several curious items.

"Tetsuya, where did you get this?" She questioned hestitantly, holding up a very nice pen. Tetusya looked at his mother blankly.

"Oji-san's desk. He said he was 'done with it'." Tenten went pale and stuffed the pen into her own pocket.

"Here, go take your sister out to play…she's getting squirmy." She said quickly, to which Tetsuya looked disgusted as he took the tiny hand presented to him and Naomi toddled across the kitchen towards the door where they headed for the yard.

"Don't climb on anything! NO TREES!" Tenten shouted as they left before melting into the chair behind her tiredly. "I love my husband, but why?" She muttered, allowing the sunlight to penetrate her clothes in the same sleepy way that always happened in Ino's kitchen. Sakura nodded.

"I wanted to kill mine last night. Do you know that when I told him I was pregnant he shot into the bathroom and emptied his stomach? That man cannot hold alcohol, I tell you that." She ran her fingers through her pink hair, "He was so surprised…still, he seemed pleased about it."

"That's good. Shikamaru is still hell bent that children at the academy are more than enough to keep us occupied." Temari grumbled, taking a long drag of her coffee. "I'm just afraid he's the biggest kid I've ever met. Still acts like he's six and has no cares half the time."

Sakura let out a slow "Mmm…" And Tenten turned her attentions to Hinata once more.

"Hina, you look terrible! Have you been sleeping alright?" Hinata stiffened. Sleep? Did she even sleep last night? Probably not, and if she did not very much. She hung her head slightly and massaged her eyes.

"Naruto." She said simply and everyone nodded in unison.

"That bastard, you're lucky I sent him home in one piece last night Hinata, I could have killed him." Sakura stated watching as Tenten leaned forward expectantly.

"Naruto's almost never in the dog house, what did he do this time?" She said, waiting to hear the gossip that was inevitably the reasoning behind their impromptu meetings. The Konoha Wives Club, a generation's thick institution, had finally been passed to them a few years ago when Hinata had finally got married. It was a saving grace for kunoichi all over the village, although the four seated and the one still locked up in her bedroom were the main attendants. There were very few rules; it was a place to decompress, bring your kids, and eat anything you wanted. Meetings were held in restaurants and cafés, but most often, Ino's house with its spacious kitchen and good fortune for sunny-weather. They talked about everything, but mostly husbands and why they ever married, and also the hopeless gossip that circulated around the table.

They were also proud to defend that no man in Konoha, not even Kakashi Hatake himself, knew of such an organization.

"He missed their anniversary dinner, can you believe it?" Sakura fumed adding a heavy amount of creamer to her coffee.

"He did not!" Tenten said with shock, "But you had the reservations booked for _ages_!"

"He did." Hinata said weakly, "He…he went out with the team." Temari just shook her head.

"I _would_ have killed him." She stated simply, and none of the others doubted a word. Hinata played with one of Haru's white socks.

"It's not that I'm mad at what he _did._ Naruto is…well, for the sake of being cliché, Naruto. He gets sidetracked so easily, and I know he's been stressed. The council has been badgering him again with this whole International Squad proposition; he thinks it will do wonders but those people are still so convinced that Konoha isn't worthy of others, that we're so much better we shouldn't subject our ninja to halfwits from other nations." The sock slid off of Haru's pink foot and Hinata set about refashioning it on his wiggling toes as she continued.

"It's just, I feel like he didn't even realize that what he did was more than just wrong. Lately…it feels like he's been so distant; he's been going and coming home and then he shuts himself in that office." She bowed her head a little more, "I know he's busy, but I'm here too. I wanted last night to be something special again, and he doesn't even understand that the fact that he couldn't even call makes me so angry."

"Then you should get him back." Temari said promptly, causing the woman to raise her head. "Do something that will get him to realize just how important you are."

"Really Hina, that man takes you for more granted than anybody." Sakura added pulling her reaching son from her friend's lap. The baby settled and Sakura cooed at him as Hinata glanced from woman to woman.

"I think I've already done enough…" Hinata said slowly, twisting her mug, "I mean, I've never been so angry. Last night I said…some things I shouldn't have…" Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the demure woman self-consciously twisting her drink.

"Did you yell at him?" Tenten said, almost breathlessly. Even Temari had opened her eyes and Sakura just sat there, letting Haru shove her fingers into his mouth. Hinata nodded solemnly.

"I did."

"What did you_ say_?" Sakura pressed, wiping her fingers on Haru's pants, still unblinking at the former heiress. Hinata flushed.

"It's hardly appropriate for conversation." She said quietly and the women gathered around just gaped. Hinata twirled a piece of her hair nervously.

"I mean…it's not like I said I didn't _love_ him or anything…but…I…well…" Everyone edged forward.

"What?" Temari whispered and Sakura echoed her with a very quiet:

"What did you do?"

Hinata felt her face going redder.

"I…I told him to leave."

Everyone stopped breathing, three pairs of eyes going ridiculously wide.

"You…w-what?" Tenten exclaimed suddenly, "You mean leave? As in…gone?"

"Bye-bye." Haru said and Sakura put her pale hand over his mouth.

"Hinata, what exactly did you tell him?" She whispered urgently. Hinata felt her throat grow thick.

"I just…I told him to go to Iruka's…I couldn't deal with him…it was late…and he was, just there and he wouldn't leave me alone!" She wailed, throwing her hands over her face.

"He kept bothering me, but I didn't want to talk to him because I was so…so…so MAD!" Hinata stared at the wood-grain from between her fingers.

"I t-told him if-if his friends w-were so much more if-important than our a-anniversary, h-he could just go and stay at o-one of their places." She looked up hesitantly at her friends, all of which were still just staring at her, "I also called him a…a…" Her voice grew quiet and Sakura blinked.

"What? What was that?" She asked and Hinata blushed.

"…" She mumbled and everyone strained their ears.

"Just say it!" Temari practically shouted, and Hinata jumped a little in her seat before reaching out to cover Haru's ears. The baby blinked up at the faces surrounding him and Sakura still hadn't removed her hand from his mouth as she anticipated Hinata's words.

"Jackass!" She cried, "I-I called Naruto a j-jackass! A hopeless one!"

"About time!" Everyone stiffened at the surprisingly foreign voice and made quick throws towards the doorway it had come from. "He, and the rest of the male population, deserves it!" Hinata felt her mouth drop open a fraction.

"Ino…you look…" The platinum blonde held up a hand.

"Don't even say it." She sniffed, shuffling towards the group in her house shoes and what appeared to be raggedy pajamas. The usually overly-chipper woman's face was pink and her eyes were red and swollen from crying, dried tear marks mapping her face like streets, not to mention the out-of-control swirls of hair that was bunched on her head.

With deliberate slowness she sat down and snuffled, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.

"What on Earth is the matter Ino?" Temari said bluntly, leaning an elbow on the table. Said girl sucked in a huge breath and Hinata put a hand on her shoulder when she saw her lip begin to tremble, pleased that attention had been relocated to her friend's quivering shoulders.

"I HATE MEN!" Ino wailed finally, collapsing on the table. "They're ALL jackasses!" Sakura rolled her eyes and Tenten just swirled her coffee.

"Hinata was just telling us." She mumbled, eyes flicking to the ceiling, causing Hinata to look dreadfully guilty. Temari rubbed her temples.

"Why did we _ever_ get married."

"Don't even say that word!" Ino cried again, lifting her head long enough to glare, "I-I swore I'd NEVER get married!"

"You got married?" Hinata said, slightly confused.

"At one of those cheap chapels, they were drunk." Sakura said frankly, ignoring the sob of desperation nearby and straightening Haru's shirt. "Frankly, I think she wanted to."

"I DID NOT WANT TO!" Ino blubbered, "It was dark…and we were in the city, and Chouji said "Hey, why don't we get married!" and I said "Sure, I've had enough sake! I'd do anything!" and then, and then, we did it, AND NOW I'M AN OLD MAID LIKE SAKURA!"

"HEY PIG!" Sakura roared, glaring down her friend, "I am _not_ an old maid!" Ino just said something that wasn't the least bit coherent and dissolved into a pitiful mess of tears and goo.

"Oh dear." Hinata declared, weakly withdrawing from the blonde who was beginning to spout unintelligible profanities. Tenten winced and Temari looked oddly satisfied.

After a while though, things calmed down to a dull roar, Ino having quieted down to a dry heaving and then eventually, stopping altogether.

"So, you're having Naruto issues?" Ino said, nose running and eyes still weeping a little. Hinata wilted a little, having forgotten after being caught up in the rapid events of the present.

"I haven't seen him since last night. He didn't call this morning." She felt her own eyes well up a little, "I think…I think he's really angry with me. I should have listened to him…something better than just telling him to leave." All the woman remained quiet, mulling over Hinata's words with looks of introspection.

"He'll get over it." Sakura sighed finally. "He always does, and once he realizes what a fool he's been, he'll be sure to make it up to you in the most flamboyant way possible." Tenten smiled and touched Hinata's hand from across the table.

"That man may be stupid, but he loves you in a way I wish Neji could even come close to. He'll give you his all to try and win back your approval."

"And even if he doesn't, just don't do his laundry for a week." Temari said with a grin, igniting a chuckle around the table. Hinata looked happier; her face brighter than when she'd arrived.

"Everyone has problems, even you and Naruto. It's not like you'll never make up." Ino added quietly, a smile on her face, "And maybe…maybe marrying Chouji wasn't such a mistake. Lord knows I'd never have eyes for anyone else anyway. And maybe, maybe we'll get to where you are someday Hinata. You may not realize it, but you're the envy of pretty much all of us."

Hinata blushed and twisted her mug, only this time it was just a comforting habit.

"I'm very blessed." She stated to the swill of creamy brown in the cup, not bothering to raise her head, "Blessed to have friends like you, and the people in my life. I hope one day everyone will know what it feels like to know that they have someone thinking about them everywhere they go."

* * *

The rest of the afternoon was spent helping Ino in and out of her irrational state, and by the time five o'clock rolled around, Hinata was beginning to dread going home.

She was sure it would be simply awful walking into an empty house and after saying goodbye to Tenten and her family, Sakura offered to walk her home with eyes that knew she was feeling less than great.

They stopped off at a few little stores so that they could pick up a few groceries, and Haru had put up a huge fuss when his shoe fell off, causing a large ruckus to find it again. With all this Hinata finally made it home at six thirty, exhausted and ready to collapse.

Seeing a very happy-looking Sasuke meet his family halfway to the house didn't help very much either, and Hinata couldn't ignore the pangs in her heart. She and Naruto had never had such a fight before, but between it being so late that night and her anger and hurt, she had just snapped.

But Hinata was never one to hold a grudge, and she was more than ready to say she was sorry to get her husband home again.

The sun had begun to set by the time she walked up the path towards the house, her heart heavy and her eyes sore. Small insects dotted the lawn, sleepy with the coming night as she opened the door with a sigh, walking into the emptiness of the house as quietly as she could.

The house was strangely tense as she entered the front room, and Hinata felt herself on edge, like something wasn't exactly right. The rooms were bathed in deep yellow and sunset orange as she walked cautiously inside, locking it behind her.

Hugging herself, she edged into the living room, looking around for any sign of abnormality. The kitchen was dark and as she slipped off her shoes she thought she could make out strange shapes on the table.

She padded slowly towards it, squinting in the dim light, ignoring the butterfly sensation in her stomach. Just as she reached the halfway point, silhouetted against the patio door, she stepped on something. Jumping back she bent and peeled what looked like a flower petal off her heel.

"What on earth…" She murmured looking at the kitchen, the table covered in something, and the smell of flowers.

Walking slowly she put a hand on her stomach nervously and gently slid her hand up the wall towards the light switch, flipping it on as slowly as possible.

"Surprise!"

"AHHH!" Hinata tumbled backwards, watching as Naruto popped down from the ceiling. "Naruto! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She shrieked, her hair still standing on end. He grinned at her, his hair being pulled down by gravity, eyes closed in pleasure.

"Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!" Hinata, panting, slowly composed herself and took a step forward, past Naruto and into their kitchen, and suddenly, all the words just left.

"Oh Naruto…How did...when...why?" The man shrugged at his wife's questioning and smiled guiltily.

"Iruka kind of told me I'd have to...Sora helped some too."

It was wonderful; Naruto had really outdone himself. There were poorly hung streamers in purple and pink and blue and there was what was obviously last-minute, plan-B takeout food set out in an elaborate display on the table, still giving off steam. Hinata put her hands over her mouth and nose, looking at the iris petals spread out over the table and on the floor, the new floor pillows and the huge flowered center piece. There was a huge card and a wrapped box as well, but they were dwarfed by the off place settings and the linens that still had the creases from being bought just that day.

It wasn't a Hyuuga gala, but it was the most beautiful thing Hinata had ever seen. Eyes clouded by tears she turned around and laid her stare on the goofy man responsible. He was standing by, looking too proud of himself and Hinata just stared at him, overcome.

"I'm really sorry. I…I didn't want it to turn out this way. It's no Emerald Dragon or anything, but I thought you'd like it." Hinata walked to him and put her hands on his arms.

"It's…I don't even know…" She turned over her shoulder, looking at all the food, picking up plates and smelling them, "Is this curry?"

"Hai." She just shook her head.

"Naruto Uzumaki…I, oh I just don't even know what to say!" She laughed, wiping away the tears in her eyes. She felt arms envelope her from behind, the mediocre streamers bobbing in the wind coming through the window. She leaned into him, but found herself unsatisfied, turning fully to bury her head in his chest.

"Well…you could say you forgive me." Naruto whispered as she cried.

"After the curry." Hinata said with mock-sternness, lifting her head. He kissed her forehead tenderly and then the tip of her nose.

"I can live with that." He murmured and Hinata felt a smile creep onto her face.

"I'm sorry I made you sleep at Iruka's."

"I deserved it."

"I know."

"Can we eat now? I'm starving."

"Of course Naruto."

* * *

Hinata had attended thousands of dinners, seen thousands of people and been to a hundred parties with well-to-do people of every shape and size, but Hinata knew none could hold a candle to the toils of one very forgetful husband, and one very wonderful anniversary.

But elsewhere, things were not so wonderful.

Hanabi was struggling to retain an impassive face as her Father presented her to the council.

"So it is to be decided. You will be betrothed to in place of _the_ _other_ now that she has been excommunicated." The eldest man looked on at Hanabi, his eyes probing every inch of her. Inside her, everything was tightened like a spring, ready to give way to the pressure at any moment. Beside her, her Father was as emotionless as ever, his face stony in the light of the members, but Hanabi did not care about her Father and his feelings.

She couldn't help it as her eyes were magnetized towards the man past her Father's broad shoulders, kneeling erectly on the floor, not so much as a muscle twitching.

Kaori Hyuuga was staring straight at the council members, and for the first time in her life Hanabi thought he might just have protested, for his eyes were narrow and fearful, like a cornered rabbits. Hanabi knew her eyes had lingered to long though as one of his frighteningly still fingers convulsed in emotion and she quickly redirected her attentions elsewhere.

Her eyes flickered closed as the council's began droning on about preparations.

_Be happy sister; be happy for me._ She voiced inside her mind, trying her best to stay calm, to remember Hinata and the promise she had made.

_I want you to be happy, for as long as you live, I want you to be free and happy, and if that means…if that means I must fulfill the promise I made to help you, then…then I will do it._

"Your reply Hanabi?" The beautiful girl looked up, a weak determination painted behind her eyes, and behind that an ever-growing and sorrowful fear.

"I agree to this proposition. If it is your will, then I shall marry Kaori in my sister's stead, as I promised."

_Please sister, be free. Be with the people you love forever, do not hesitate. Take these wings sister, take them and fly far from this place that troubles you._

I can take this, so please, do not worry your heart.

Sister…Sister, I will do this for you. I would do it a thousand times.

But sister, sister, please…

Pray for me.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed another one of my favorites :'D  
Please review!**

**xoxo,  
Spoons**


	17. In which there are others

**(Disc: Naruto doesn't belong to me. Nuff' Said)**

**Moonstruck**

"_To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters.  
We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts.  
We remember family feuds and secrets, family grief's and joys.  
We live outside the touch of time."_

- Clara Ortega

_~Five Months From Chapter 15…August~_

_There had always been something about Hanabi. _

A certain, unattainable, type of funny charm that hovered around her the way it does uppity old women. You cannot bring yourself to hate them, because they are both rude and so smart at the same time.

At least, that's what Hinata was thinking on as she stared at her younger sister, overcome by a swell of emotions. Hanabi was shockingly calm, her own face stoic in the dim light, Kaori seated beside her, stiff and cold.

"So…you two are…" Naruto stared between the two of them, looking as confused as anybody might have been had two distinctly unfriendly family members called them over as unexpectedly as they. Kaori's eyes narrowed in distaste.

"Engaged." He finished firmly, fist tightening ever so on his knee. They were kneeling on the matted floors of one of many Hyuuga tea rooms, close together but a million miles away. Hanabi let her eyes flick to her sister's, mouth opening to speak.

"I am inviting you to the wedding." Hinata felt her eyes go wide at such a blunt declaration, caught completely unawares. Hanabi nodded once and then went on to an equally surprised Naruto, "That includes you, Hokage-sama."

"Naruto. Just Naruto." Naruto mumbled, looking at Hinata who was too busy trying to understand what exactly had transpired between them coming over and the words 'Kaori…Hanabi…Married…' tumbling from her Father's thin lips.

"When?" Hinata said suddenly, and Kaori looked at the woman with dulled, uninterested eyes.

"A month from this coming week." He stated dryly and Naruto looked as dazzled as ever.

"No. I meant, how long have you been engaged." Hinata said sharply, cutting off Kaori's snide remark. Hanabi looked guilty, glancing to the opposite wall.

"Five Months." Kaori answered, though Hinata's eyes were solely trained on her sister.

"They take _that long?_" he said, rubbing his forehead, remembering the endless two months of planning for his own wedding. It had been agonizing then; there was no telling how awful a wedding that took more than four months to plan would be.

"Five?" Hinata gasped, face opening up in surprise. Hanabi looked pained and her kimono rustled as she shifted uncomfortably in her place.

"It really hasn't been that long. Many people are engaged for much longer." She said softly and Hinata just let her eyes rest where they were.

"Hanabi-chan." She whispered, her sister avoiding any official contact between the two, "Hanabi, why didn't you tell me?"

Hanabi finally broke inside, moving towards the door and standing, Kaori looking up as she left.

"Please excuse me…" She said softly, her hand sliding the door open before she stepped up into the main hallway. Hinata instantly stood, struggling to gain her proper balance, her belly tight and round and almost always in the way. Naruto's reflexes caught her elbow, easing her up along.

"Don't be long." He muttered in her ear and Kaori stared at the floor. Hinata nodded and quickly followed her sister out of the room as quickly as her body would allow.

* * *

Hanabi had gone quite far by the time she stopped, standing at the edge of the compound, head leaning against a wall. She leaned her head against the cool stone and breathed, hand covering her face. She hadn't expected her sister to look so…so…

"Hanabi!" Hinata called, stepping out from a hedge to follow her sister's trailing path. Hanabi's eyes opened as she turned towards the noise.

"Sister." She murmured as Hinata approached, hands holding themselves nervously.

"What are you thinking?" Hinata said loudly, walking closer, eyes still marred with shock. "Just what were you thinking when you agreed to this?" She cried, grabbing Hanabi's shoulder, only to have the younger twist from her grip.

"I wasn't thinking anything." She replied weakly, and Hinata's face constricted in anger.

"They have you stupid now? Blindly following like a lamb!" Hinata continued, forcing Hanabi to look at her, "Tell me Hanabi, do they have you dumb as well?" Hanabi prickled in irritation.

"You don't understand-"

"How could I not Hanabi? You're marrying that man! That pig! Do you know what he will _do_ to you? Are you aware what exactly you've gotten yourself into?! I know you value your position but really Hanabi!" Hinata continued, glad the last person she'd seen was more than one hundred feet away, and for once thankful that the compound was such a sprawling facility.

Hanabi recoiled as Hinata took another step.

"I'm not a fool. And I'm not blind, sister." Hinata shook her head.

"Then you understand what this means? What this means? They'll keep you locked in here Hanabi; you won't be allowed any freedoms once you're tied to him. This is Father's idea of manipulation-"Hanabi stopped her sister.

"Father had nothing to do with this!" She said sharply, causing Hinata to look on, confused, "It was my own choice, so you can quit your nagging!" Hinata felt somewhat relieved that her sassy, opinionated younger sibling had surfaced a little, but the effect of Hanabi's words were slowly setting in.

"Y-you...you chose this?" Hinata said in disbelief. Hanabi looked away, off towards the encroaching forest.

"It was mandatory." She turned back to Hinata, "There was no other choice for me." She couldn't tell her sister the truth. Not now. Hinata was already upset enough, and Hanabi didn't have to think twice about her current condition to realize that discretion was the word to remember. Still, she couldn't keep the pain from gnawing at her chest.

"I don't go willingly." She said softly, "At least my heart doesn't." Hinata tilted her head at her sister, feeling the anger ebb into a throbbing sympathy. Hanabi narrowed her eyes and stared at the grass beneath their feet.

"He does not love me, and I do not wish him too…still…" She looked at the compound, a specific alcove between to high maples, the shade and fragrant clusters of flowers that gathered round their bases, shielded by a low house.

"There is another." Lavender eyes widened.

"What?" She hissed, stepping straight up to Hanabi, a pale hand on the younger woman's elbow. "What do you mean 'another'?" Hanabi smiled and chuckled dryly.

"Exactly as I say." She continued staring at the shadowed pass between the house and the maples.

Such surprise had covered Hanabi, walking to the gardens to oversee as her Father had instructed; a menial task to get her out of his hair for a few hours, besides, Hiashi knew that Hanabi enjoyed the air.

She had instantly recognized the girl. She was a small young thing, little more than twenty, with eyes like the full moon, constantly curious and full of wonder. Her hair was long and dark and fell to her waist in heavy cascades; she, at that time, had a flower in her hair.

She was a branch member; common of lineage and blood, they had not even bothered to seal her because she possessed such bare desire and talent for shinobi arts and also for darker reasons. Hanabi only truly knew her because of the controversy that clouded Izumi Hyuuga like fog wherever she went. Her name was debated on constant basis. She was a shame to the clan, daughter of a Hyuuga woman and a servant, and yet because she possessed Byakugan and Hyuuga characteristics it was often argued she was indeed the daughter of her mother's husband, a man long dead from battle. Her expulsion hung carefully in the balance every time the council spoke of her, because what clan could be so prestigious, and yet 'harbor some half-breed commoner'?

But even that could not have troubled Hanabi. She paid no heed to girls of her kind, except to entertain her own fantasies, as girls such as Izumi were pale and innocent and full of stories.

No, what troubled her was the empty basket next to her feet, the peaches it had contained rolling to the ground, proving that had recently been dropped. Hanabi had paused on her way, following the trail of Izumi's robes to the person that had her tangled against him.

Hanabi's eyes had widened in horror as she realized Kaori was holding her, their faces locked together as they kissed in the protection of the shade. Now, Hanabi could admit she shouldn't have felt so horribly betrayed, or surprised, stumbling backwards, almost falling into an azalea bush.

It was a mutual consent that neither would be happy in their matrimony, even that other companionship might have been accepted, but it was not the fact that he was kissing her that made Hanabi's eyes blur with tears.

"It was the way he was kissing her…the way he held her…" Hanabi whispered, remembering Kaori's hands tracing Izumi's face, the way he tucked her head under his chin, cheek resting on her hair, holding her to him so tenderly Hanabi might never have believed it was truly him, "It made me realize just how alone I might be. Just how I would not be allowed such shadows to conceal my own affairs, if I ever were to find them." She looked at Hinata and her eyes were empty.

"I will never love because of my womanhood. As a man, Kaori is endowed the right to secrets, eyes are turned away, and the council will blind themselves because he is so dear to their endeavors…but I, I will never have such luxuries as love. And so, I have become bitter, and depressed, because I cannot run away from a promise I have already made." She smiled at the end and Hinata found herself shivering in the August air.

Hinata felt lead drop into her stomach, and as if procured from an outer sense, the instant reality of the situation condensed in her head.

"He loves her…truly." Hanabi murmured, folding her hands into her kimono, "He loves her with all of his black heart, and he is so soft and tender to her. It wasn't the last time I saw them together. He treats her as a treasure, and there is nothing I will do to stop them, and I will never elicit such affections."

"He does not only love her…" Hinata continued, rubbing her forehead in troubled thought, "He has been protecting her. All this time, he's been keeping her safe…his desperation to get in with the upper branches may have started out as selfishness and bitterness, but now, now it has evolved into keeping her with him." Hanabi laughed.

"It was only later I realized that. You are truly wise sister to understand just moments after I tell you!" Hinata smiled weakly at her sister's perseverance to smile despite such pain and Hinata felt instantly regretful for everything. Hanabi smiled.

"Kaori is not a noble man," She turned to Hinata, "He is a wheedling, dishonest man who would quicker stab me in the back than hold my hand for public notice…and yet he contradicts himself with a heart that must sympathize with Izumi. He must feel as though she is his own personal duty to see that she does not suffer anymore than he had to." Hinata nodded solemnly, her entire outlook of the man she had once held dear to her becoming even more twisted than before.

"If he were ever to go against the council they will release their favor…and she will be expelled." Hinata said softly, looking towards the maple trees.

"If she is but his only happiness in this world, then who am I to think I am right to interfere? Still…he is afraid of me because he is aware I know, and I did not hide it from him. So he has made great leaps in finalizing our marriage, to settle his influence so it may never be revoked, so that she will always be able to be near him."

"And yet…" Hinata said, "And yet it troubles you, and whoever said that _you _must suffer either. Whoever provided that law?" Hanabi took a step towards the house.

"There are sacrifices to be made for those we hold dear in the world."

Hinata watched as her sister took another step and then looked briefly over her shoulder.

"Sometimes, fate opens our eyes and we become aware of what must be…and you're fate was dependent on my own."

"Hanabi!" Hinata cracked, voice showing plainly that she was on the verge of tears, "What are you even saying? I never once asked - !" Hanabi held up her slim hand.

"I was well aware of what I was getting myself into Hinata. Contrary to what you believe, I am not as stupid as Father leads them to believe, and I have the same fears you have, but I knew that _I_ could weather them."

Hinata felt a something slide down her cheek as Hanabi turned fully around to face her sister.

"I can live with myself being cold and heartless. You, however, could not because your silly heart rules everything you do. It was not even plausible for you to marry him as they intended, and so out of my own selfishness to see you gone, I sold you off to a mongrel boy who has too much pride in his small accomplishments." She lifted her head and Hinata almost gasped at the look of aristocracy in her face.

She was so beautiful. Always more beautiful than Hinata, and yet she could not recall times when Hanabi had been anything but serious, anything but coldly beautiful, like their mother, trailing her Father, refusing friends, refusing anything but training and obedience. She read alone, she played alone, a solitary child that Hinata did not understand how she felt about.

A child who was strange and beautiful and better and one that Hinata felt had no interest in her.

But as it often was, as it was evident in the softness of Hanabi's face in sorrow, of her emotions, of her words, of her over-bearing resemblance to her own silly self, Hinata realized she was wrong.

So she didn't gasp. Instead, Hinata went forward, grabbing her sister and pulling her face, tucking it on her shoulder, her own cheek laying in the same way Kaori's had lain across Izumi's.

"Hanabi-chan." She whispered, and Hanabi felt her eyes frozen wide, hands hanging astounded at her sides. "Hanabi, I'm sorry I never held you more, or loved you more, or was there more." Hanabi felt the tears hit the top of her hair as Hinata cradled her sister's head.

Hanabi couldn't say anything as Hinata continued, voice trembling.

"Such emotional Hyuuga women…such horrible Hyuuga women we are!" She whimpered, "And never once did I hold you like I should have…the way I should have so many times when you were alone." Hanabi felt her hands quiver in their skin as she felt the disgraceful tears well into her eyes, the fingers flexing, as if cracking through years of ice, before they grabbed the arms holding her head, digging themselves into Hinata's clothes.

"Forgive me Hanabi; forgive me for not understanding sooner..."

Hanabi felt her eyes slide shut as Hinata held her sister closer.

"…you were so torn. You didn't know if you would be lonelier if I left, or if Father turned you aside…I'm sorry Hanabi, I'm sorry. All along, you were the one most troubled; you were the one who had to watch as everything fell apart…I'm so sorry Hanabi. I'm so sorry that I don't deserve you."

"Don't be sorry." Hanabi begged, feeling horribly shameful for the tears tumbling down her cheeks, "Don't be sorry, please. I've poured everything into you. Please don't forget that, and never pity me. Be happy, be so happy you burst. Be happy for me."

Hinata kissed her sister's temple. "I promise. I promise Hanabi-chan, that I will never forget."

If Hinata could no longer be with her sister, she would always hold her in her heart.

* * *

The wedding came too quickly. It was a grand affair, because that is how it is with lies. She looked stunning and Naruto was officially there, so just about everyone else was. Her Father was civil, and Kaori was emotionless.

Hinata let her sister go that day, but she did not forget. She watched in stoned silence as Kaori made his paper vows and Hanabi her own, it was a spectacle.

A poor excuse for love, but the Hyuuga enjoy reminding the village of what they are, but never who.

Izumi cried.

None noticed, and Hinata bowed her head.

It was tiresome, but it was mandatory, those silent tears.

So when Hanabi turned her head away from Kaori, Hinata turned her head from Hanabi forever.

Because Hinata was _the other_, and Hanabi was not, and it was too late for fantasies of sisterhood. Time had not waited for them, and it never would.

But never did Hinata forget.

They were two _others_.

And so they have to be apart, but achingly, _achingly_ together.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed!  
Please review!**

**xoxo,  
Spoons**


	18. Which burns

**(Disc: Same as per usual.)**

**Moonstruck**

_"Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every fear is a freedom."_

- Marilyn Ferguson

_Naruto lurched forward with a heavy gasp. _Blinking rapidly he pushed back his sweaty hair and his heart thumped rapidly against his ribs, so much so that he was convinced it would burst through his skin at any moment.

He swallowed and let out a shuddering breath, holding his head in his palms, massaging his brow. It had been the dream again. The agonizing one that taunted him and tortured him and mocked him…Tsunade said the interference would be heavy now, but he was convinced he could have survived it.

With hesitance, though his heart continued its wild thrashing, he looked over at the space beside him, the moonlight casting shadows on the floor and tracing out the outline dictated by sheets and blankets. Hot August air poured in through the open window and Naruto continued to stoop himself over his legs, abandoning the covers and staring at the woman beside him.

She hadn't stirred an inch, so peacefully asleep she was not even aware of his nightmares. Her cheeks were pale and white, and her long hair tangled itself against her back, though she was facing him, her eyes moving rapidly beneath their lids as she dreamed.

Naruto touched her face softly, letting his fingers rope into the hair that was caught in front of her ears. She sighed and he stiffened, but then relaxed, realizing she'd only moved to turn her cheek into his palm, a mumbled something issued over the din of crickets and wind from outside. He let his thumb roam the line of her face before slowly pulling his hand away. She grumbled and he couldn't help but smile, her face pulling into a little frown at the loss of contact. Naruto wished he could sleep, his arms wrapped around her, reassured. Her patient breathing hitting his body with every tiny intake of air, reminding him he wasn't alone, he'd never be alone, little whispers in her sleepiness, incoherent messages conveyed through the rosy lips that rested against her wrist, fingers curling into the pillow near her head.

Gaara had warned him of this. The sleeplessness. The inability to rest for fear that...it was so vile he could not even give it the respect of proper names…the maddening beast inside him would turn him into something hollow. He raked his tan hands through his hair and thought deeply, eyes playing on the white linens beneath him.

This had been the fourth night in a string of nights he had not been able to let down his guard for more than a moment. It was crucial – Tsunade had said – that he be vigilant, to keep emotions in check, to be calm.

All the Kyuubi needed in his state was a window, and the Fox was well aware of this. Naruto grimaced. It was one thing to have a demon in your head, telling you to kill your wife while you slept, but it was another entirely when that demon was a conniving, vicious, intelligent soul that talked to you and told you all its gruesome plans out of boredom alone. It was almost funny that the Kyuubi was taking such interest in the rebuilding of the seal.

He appeared to be docile during the actual process, but when it came time for Naruto to return home, sore and almost crippled by the pain in his head, he was nothing but a optimistic, persnickety creature, turning Naruto's thoughts against him, biding his time with patience, attempting to steal more of his container than he already had.

But rebuilding seals was no easy business, even for someone as knowledgeable as Tsunade and the experts under contract she worked with. It was agonizing, for starters, and now, the side effects were more than apparent because you could not create a new seal if the old one was still damaged and ineffective after years of abuse. Naruto smirked into his palm as he stared out the window, almost biting his cheek in his amusement.

He had not been what one would call watchful of his body, despite the devilish presence inside of him, but then again, no one had really ever taught him how. His diet alone during his childhood was one for the records. How he ever functioned on rice and ramen he'd never really understand, not to mention his sweet tooth when he had the money to indulge it.

He wasn't hungry often anymore; he hadn't felt really himself in weeks. Hinata stirred again beside him and Naruto felt the horrible pang of guilt hit his heart.

He hated it.

Hated it with all of his being this detainment of information from her; he could see it in her eyes some times, the hurt.  
He'd taken to locking himself up in his office, taking his dinner at the tower, staying away from her. He'd been being cautious, but what he took as precaution to potentially the one disaster he'd never forgive himself for, she took as distance.

Still, she smiled for him, kissed him, and loved him just as much as he screamed for her now. He had never needed her so much, needed her to tell him he was going to be fine, that everything would work out.

But…

"I can't." He whispered to the August nighttime, "I can't do it to her." What it would do to her, to know that he was being operated on in such a fashion, in such a dangerous, shameful way? He couldn't do that to her. Not with her pregnant and already distraught by the recent marriage of her sister (she still hadn't truly recovered from the news of the engagement). Naruto didn't want her to worry. He didn't want her to be scared.

Scared of _him, _of what he was capable of. It was the twisting in his stomach that kept deterring her eyes, avoiding her touch.

He felt dirty. Undeserving, a million things he couldn't name when he came home and she was hanging up laundry, the sun pouring into the house, the feeling of not belonging. The hurt he felt that it was causing her even the slightest pain.

_Fufufu..._

Naruto twitched, his legs working against him and lifting him out of bed; it couldn't have been more than one o'clock in the morning. He shifted on the floor, hastily pulling on his clothes before slipping from the bedroom. The door went shut and the crickets chirped their syncopated rhythms on the lawn, the rustle of curtains the only sound left behind as he became a shadow, and nothing more.

Hinata opened her eyes and stared at the window. The wind hissed through the trees as she covered her hands with her face and turned towards her pillow. Her shoulders tensed for a moment, a choked sound coming out of her mouth.

She whimpered, fingers clenching unconsciously, nails digging into her forehead. She felt the tears slide out of her eyes as she balled herself as much as she could on her side, her shoulders now trembling.

He'd left…again.

She'd been awake, again, for his departure.

* * *

Hinata hung up the phone, fingers trailing over the surface of the plastic as she stood in the living room. Sakura had been helpful. Consoling.

But it wasn't enough. Hinata trusted Naruto. Trusted him with her everything, her life, her heart, her happiness, just _everything_, but his midnight disappearances were beginning to become suspicious.

He avoided her, gave her glances out of the corner of his eye and nothing more, darting just out of her reach when she tried to gently pry the answer out of his stubborn fingers. With a sigh she moved to the center of the living room and sank onto the low couch, melting into the furniture, the silk robe she wore over her cotton pajamas gathering around her. It wasn't his fault. He was still so conditioned, so used to facing things alone, to dealing with himself by himself. It was part of him he had not been very willing to share.

Sasuke had taken that part of him, and hadn't returned it, and so in her own way, Hinata had built him a new trust and though it was weak, it was a good one and it was solid.

But even it had its limits, it appeared. She didn't know where he was going. She almost...almost didn't want to know.

There it went, the selfish, horrible part of her that still thrived on covering the truth with a sugar-coated gauze. Something sweet to ease the pain while she slept alone.

"He looks so troubled." She mumbled, leaning her head back, hair so long it almost grazed the floor. The baby kicked hard against her stomach and she winced a little, "He'll be home soon. Don't worry." She soothed, rubbing her stomach tenderly. She prayed it would be true, but somehow that wasn't enough.

She stared at the door nearby, the hush of night and the crickets.

Hinata stared at the door for the longest time.

* * *

It was hot. Dreadfully hot. Hinata could feel the still air hang lifelessly in the sky, a few scattered clouds passing overhead as she walked the streets. She knew she shouldn't. It was dangerous, she couldn't really fight. It was dark.

Naruto would be angry.

Still...she had to. She just...had to. She needed to know. She needed to know so badly, to confirm that her absolute worst fear was not going to come true.

She was inconspicuous as she traveled, her head hung low, but she didn't use her Byakugan. She used her sense.

And when it took her to an old playground she was the most surprised, though she was sure Naruto was probably far more confused than surprised.

He was sitting on the bench, staring out over the ball field and the swings and huge trees. His hand was balanced on his chin, hokage robe draped over the wood of the seat. He didn't see her at first, but Hinata...was she glad?

Glad he couldn't see the tears of relief, the sudden leaden weight that released itself from her stomach.

She was so glad she almost laughed. Almost laughed because she'd been so stupid. If Naruto had been cheating on her with anyone, it was with an old wooden bench, and if that's what Naruto wanted at night, well, Hinata would let him have it.

But still...an old wooden bench didn't account for the way he skirted her like a disease. Old benches were fine, but they provided no plausible explanation as to why Naruto preferred them over her.

So Hinata took a step forward, a leaf rustled underfoot and she watched him turn his head over his should her in alarm.

"Hina?" He rasped and Hinata looked down at the ground and took another step forward, and another, and another and another until she was finally where she'd wanted to be for weeks.

Next to him.

"What are you doing out here?" She whispered, lowering herself down. Naruto looked at her, dumbstruck.

"H-how did you know I was here?" She chuckled.

"Silly Naruto-kun." She laughed, reverting herself back to his old names for the sake of comfort. She slowly touched his hand his hand. He flinched and Hinata tightened her fingertips over his own, "Don't you remember? I love you." He looked guility at her and sighed. Life just wasn't so simple anymore.

"I love you too. So much." He responded and Hinata stared ahead of her, their hands still connected.

"Tell me why you don't stay with me anymore? Is it me?" Naruto bit the inside of his cheek.

"No Hinata. Never." He mumbled and Hinata smiled, letting out a small puff of air from her nose.

The man swallowed stiffly.

"I don't want to tell you." He said softly and Hinata's smile twitched.

"I don't want you to think that." She whispered back and Naruto let go of his breath, "I want you to tell me why you're so troubled, so that I can help you." She looked at him sideways and he watched as her face spread into a small, certain smile, "You are not very good at pretending Naruto. I've spoiled you." He stared at her and she leaned slowly towards him, until her head was tucked rightfully on his shoulder.

"Tell me. Please." She breathed, and Naruto leaned his cheek into her hair.

"Hai..." He started, staring at the mulch under their feet. "Hai Hina-chan."

"It's my seal."

Hinata blinked slowly.

"Oh...ah." She said, and Naruto closed his eyes.

"It hurts." He whispered, almost laughing, "It hurts like a mother-" She stopped him, raising her head.

"Naruto." She said sternly and he smiled, a lopsided, uncomfortable grin.

"Well...it does. It hurts a lot. And...my head..." he paused and looked at the stars. Hinata suddenly nodded her head.

"I was wondering who you were hearing that I couldn't...I hear you at night sometimes." He flushed and Hinata continued nodding along, putting the pieces together.

"It makes more sense now...you've been having Tsunade-sama help you, ne? Oh, this is so strange Naruto...I feel like a shinobi again!" She laughed and Naruto looked tired, but pleased as she giggled at her own silliness. He shifted slightly and Hinata stopped laughing and stared at him. Naruto looked away.

"It doesn't...bother you?" He looked up at her, blue eyes dull, but still waiting expectantly as his lips fumbled for the words, "It doesn't...scare you?"

Hinata's eyes widened as she slowly looked out over the playground.

"It...does scare me...but not because I'm afraid of what you could do. I know what you could do Naruto." She looked at her husband, "But I also know, and even more than knowing, that you won't. That you wouldn't. So it's not that I'm afraid of you...but, I suppose, now that I think on it, I'm afraid...for you. I don't like not having the power to help you, or protect you, or keep you safe."

She stared at the fingers in her lap, hands that were so mismatched curled together in an intimate embrace. His hand was warm. Hinata stroked the bony knucles of his hands.

Good hands. Strong hands. Hands that held _you_. Hands that had courage and love. Valient hands. Silly hands some times.  
Soft hands, when they wanted to be.

Hands that had killed. Hands that would kill.  
Hands that breathed life and took it, all with a touch.

But it was dangerous she knew. The killing he _could_ do now was a different kind of killing. It wasn't Naruto.

It wasn't Naruto at all, and Hinata knew, probably more than Naruto knew, that it would never be Naruto.

"_I'm not scared of you." _Hinata said again tightening her hold. "I won't ever be scared of you, because you're _mine_." Her eyes squinted in the starlight, a bird chirped in a tree, a sudden sound that made the crickets pause.

"Do you know what that means? What it means to me, to call you mine?" She took his chin in her hand and pulled it towards her, so that his cloudy eyes looked right into her own.

"Even if you killed me. Even if you hurt me. Even if you destroyed and took and stole and murdered, I would still love you because you are _mine _before any demon will ever have you, before any seal. You belong to me and you're mine all alone to hold and keep and cherish until the day death _tears_ me from you. I promised you that. I vowed to that." Naruto's head shuddered as he dropped it forward, her fingers falling from his chin and onto his neck.

Hot tears hit the back of her hand as Naruto held his head over his lap.

"In sickness and in health Naruto-kun." She said softly, and the night hung still and hot in the sky.

* * *

Shikamaru Nara stared out at the park, watching in silence as two people rose from the small wooden bench. He smiled into his cigarette, eyes wandering away from the sight of them, still encased in familial shadows.

There was something so intimate about the way he held his wife's hand in his own, and if Shikamaru hadn't seen it with his own eyes on more than one occation, he would never have guessed it were possible for such a tiny action to amount to something so close he had to turn from it.

He'd come out at such an hour, dragged himself from his bed and a very dead-asleep Temari, to meet with an old friend on a bench.

The man acclaimed as a genius shook his head.

There were so many mysteries left in the world that were still unsolved it seemed, for Shikamaru Nara could still not capture the idea that two people could love each other so much.

* * *

But destiny doesn't compromise, because what _must_ be, must always be. Everything must come full circle, even over love.

The days after had melted into a reoccuring happiness. Silent joys accompanied where once there hung a great void in Hinata's life, but sometimes, even what we claim as victory in the war is really nothing more than victory in battle.

Time doesn't wait for us to catch up.

The day began steady. It had been a week since the night on the bench, but Hinata had wasted no time in taking action. She was willing to use her influence if it meant life could be easier for Naruto, and she had no problem twisting a few strings and making a few people smile in exchange for the nesecarry arrangements. The reasons were disclosed, only whispered into trustworthy ears. Naruto didn't want his people to worry over him, though Hinata wasn't a fool and knew very well that worry was the least from Naruto's mind at the time. Images of hate and discrimination had been conjuring in his head lately, and demonic manipulation was almost too easy for someone with as soft-hearted as Naruto. He was dancing precariously on the edges, and though it did make Hinata nervous, Naruto was doing better...things were going slowly, but to an extent, well. His smile was brightening, but the bags were yet growing underneath his eyes a clear indication that sleep was no choice, and Hinata had arranged for a special guest to arrive.

Gaara was more than happy to come, or as happy as he would ever have let on, but when he took one look at Naruto's surprised face he couldn't help but let his jaw tick ever so.

The embrace had been a true display, Naruto was so thrilled to see the very dearest of his friends it had brought tears to his eyes, but Hinata wasn't as amused as the others watching the small welcoming party. Temari looked at her and Hinata spoke the mutual understanding.

The empathy was crucial. Gaara's support was one of the things that would pull Naruto out, they both knew. They both could only extend their hands so far into the lives of the ones they held so dear, but even around them, even around Naruto their was a wall that couldn't be breached unless by the other.

It was the bond, the unforgiving hate, the pain, the tears, the blood that attached the two of them and held them like paste to eachother, near insperable save for the vast miles that usually harbored their relationship.

The afternoon had passed gaily; lunch had been an affair and Gaara had looked so amused that Hinata had to laugh into her fan. Naruto had looked happier than he had in months and Gaara, after pulling her aside several times to gain detail, could understand why.

"He's uncertain. He's glad that I'm here. That I've lived it...that there's something to compare to." The Kazekage had said softly and Hinata had nodded along, "But you musn't take it lightly. He's dangerous Hinata, intentionally or not. He's as dangerous as I was, and probably more. If he were to go over, there's no telling if he'd be able to bring himself back." Hinata closed her eyes thoughtfully.

"Hai...but he is still..." Gaara had put a hand on her own and Hinata's eyes flashed open, staring into the turqouise that gazed steadily down at her.

"If Naruto were to ever show signs...you must heed them. There is more resting on you now. If Naruto were to ever hurt you in anyway, Hinata I can say with certainty he would rather kill himself, and probably would." The soft hand, untouched by steel or injury tightened on Hinata's, "Don't help him towards that fate."

"He is my husband, Gaara... I would give my life for him." Hinata breathed. Gaara's eyes hooded and he let her hand go slowly, taking a step backwards, towards the room they had previously been congrugating in.

"I see..." He paused, "Very well." He finished softly before watching as Temari peaked her head out from the doorway, Shikamaru walking past her with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Gaara! He wants to talk...we're all heading out for something to drink, you all can join us later." Hinata chuckled and rubbed her belly, allowing Temari to amend her statement, "You're welcome to come along Hinata, I won't drink."

Shikamaru made a strange snorting noise through his nose that made his wife's eyes harden into cut blue stone.

"Asking you to not drink is like saying I won't smoke. We both say we won't anymore but end up drunk and hacking up tar anyway." He drawled and Temari rolled her eyes. Hinata just laughed and held up her hand defensively.

"No, no, you go enjoy yourselves together! I'll stay for a while longer, I'd like to talk to a few of the woman here. One of them just got out of the hospital, and I'd like to know how she's doing!" She smiled brightly and Temari just shrugged and went to stand next to her husband before they both took to the hallway, bickering about something Hinata couldn't truly hear.

With a sigh she stared at the closed door where the other two had retreated and found it surprisingly silent. With her head tilted slightly, Hinata walked towards it, and as she approached a horrible feeling settled into her stomach.

_"Naruto?_" She could hear the sound of Gaara's soft voice suddenly break the eerie quiet.

"Ah, there you are Hinata-chan, what are you-" The silverhaired copycat that had appeared from her left stopped as Hinata held up her hand, eyes staring at the door.

There was a low groan and Kakashi followed her eyes just as it issued.

_You mean the brat, don't you_?Every hair on Hinata's body went up. She felt every nerve kick into gear as she stiffened, Kakashi's visible eye widening. She could practically feel Gaara tighten on the other side of the door and then relax.

"I see. So tell me then, do you recognize me?" Hinata felt herself unable to move as the sound hit her ears, the heavy rake of claws across stone, the steady shrieking in her brain that made Kakashi stand in awe.

_It...is tooo easssy_.

The horrible voice was thick with amusment as it rasped and growled its way out of Naruto's throat. Her mouth opened a fraction.

_The boy...is weak. Kuku...he tries to tell himself he can stop me but...he won't_.

"He will." Gaara said softly, but with conviction, "He doesn't need you anymore. He has forged his own ways. He has more than enough to keep you sealed away, imprisoned."

_What do you know, weak one? What could you give him? Your words...are as empty as your heart. I know your story...I was there._

The voice laughed and Hinata felt pins drive into every ounce of her. Horrible, burning sensations eating away at her skin, eminating from behind the door.

"You waited, did you not, great one?" Gaara said with no emotion, no betraying tone in his voice, "You waited for this. For Naruto to become emotional...you've been biding your time, haven't you great one?"

_The brat is too easy. He is weak...he is nothing more...than a puppet on a string._

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Hinata heard a distant snap, a pop of energy that released and then came back with enough strength to break the wall down.

She lurched towards the door, Kakashi instantly reacted as she turned sideways and shoved her shoulder through, bursting into the wall where Naruto's figure stood hunched in a corner, his hand, only now a ragged claw still kept its nails embedded in the wall. Gaara was standing as well, the tension in the room breaking as soon as Hinata had entered.

"Hinata!" Kakashi's voice was lost as Hinata stood before the creature. Blood red seeped where cerulean once pooled and the fangs distended past his lips...it was not Naruto. It was not Naruto at all, there was no trace of her Naruto, the one that belonged to her.

Not to him.

The animal raised what might have been Naruto's head and looked at her, and Hinata felt a stab in her heart just by staring at it. It radiated red, scarlet dripped from its fingertips, pure energy that burned the floor and walls and crackled the air around her head.

The whole room smelled of ash, Hinata realized, as the creature stared at her and smiled, a grotesque twist of its lips to take on the form of a sneer. Hinata realized in that instant something she hadn't before...

It recognized her.

_The Dear One_

As soon as the words were expelled the creatures hands wrapped around its head and smashed itself into the wall.

"YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER!" Hinata heard Naruto's voice break through the clouds of red before her as he rammed himself against the wall. "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER!"His voice roared across the room as he struggled, his arms pushing themselves back down to his sides, a violent, twisted dance within his own mind. It was agonizing, and as he went Naruto put up the fight, his body convulsing and rippling with the conflictions within him.

Hinata could not find the words as she watched her husband slowly be defeated, the horror and shock and pain littered on her face. She had been so wrong. So stupid. So stupid. A stupid, little girl. It lied to him. It lied to him and spoke to him within his mind, she could see. He recoiled. He retreated as the creature smiled once more, lips stretching back against

_You have underestimated me...and so perhaps you might be taught...to obey your master. Perhaps...I should take what is most Dear, and Precious of all and show you the lies they spin...so perhaps you will have nothing to fight for...and you will be alone._ You have always been alone...except for me, brat...I have always...always been here...

It was a blur as Hinata's mouth opened on its own accord.

"Don't listen to him! He's lying! HE'S LYING TO YOU! DON'T LISTEN!"

Hinata made the fatal mistake though as she raised her eyes to the beast.

_"I am not afraid of you!"_

What was not Naruto lifted its head and the too dumbstruck Kakashi bolted towards the heiress. Gaara's hand extended.

Hinata felt the red hot knife of fire as its hand tore clean through her flesh, her shoulder splitting neatly, so easily, like an old wound. She felt herself dragged down, a million hands on her knees, knocking her to the floor. She hadn't even seen it coming.

She remembered fire. Fire on her skin, burning, eating fire and Naruto...Naruto with eyes that were frozen in time, blue eyes dull and cold.

She remembered blood, she remembered fire.

She didn't have the strength to ask why as she collapsed forward, the red still spilling from him like blood. Her eyes fluttered, numb and then, Hinata fell, his name still tickling her lips.**

* * *

**

**Thank you for reading this far!  
Please review!**

**xoxo  
Spoons**


	19. Where Ignorance meets Bliss

**(Disc: I don't own anything but this story.)**

**  
Moonstruck  
**_**  
**__"Suddenly my feet are feet of mud...I don't know why I'm crying...am I suspended in Gafa?"_

- Suspended in Gafa: Ra Ra Riot

_Hinata didn't know._ The fire was gone, replaced by something else. Maybe it was only because she was so burned she couldn't feel it burn, but she could feel this.

She felt pressure. Pressure on her, all over, hands on her, on her stomach. Pressure. She heard shouts and Sakura...Sakura? _Sakura...the baby...the baby...._

Her heart was thumping across her ribcage. Every little beat she struggled to convey the message. Could they hear her?

The word "Crash" hit her ears. Something beeped. Beeped steady...steady...blood. Wet with it. Sliding down her legs. She'd fallen.

_The baby...the baby..._ hum. Tick. Pressure, pressure.

Beep.

She felt it leave her, her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling eyes unseeing.

And then...

A baby cried, wailed, screamed, sucked in air.

"HINATA!"

She smiled, a ghostly grin upon her lips.

She was gone.

* * *

(We are now back in Konoha ... Hinata's age...17)

Sakura pressed her hand against her forehead. It was sweltering as she stood in Ino's shop, seventeen and sweating like a stuck pig. It was hotter than hell because the AC that should have been replaced for years had finally burned out and landed Ino in a predicament.

"HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO SELL HOT FLOWERS?!" The girl was shrieking, rummaging through huge cartons and shoving spray bottles into her friend's hands. Sakura rolled her eyes; for once she was too hot to be mad.

"Ino, stop you're raising the temperature in here!" Sakura fanned herself and spritzed the frantic blonde with the water and tacked back her sweaty bangs. The girl deflated in front of her, slumping up against the counter.

"Mumfle...Joaiudfj..." Sakura rolled her head at the incoherent mutters into the plastic coating of the counter and continued fanning herself with an old pamphlet advertising violets, eyes trained on the ceiling.

"How do you think Hinata's coping? She's been alone with him for a few days now, how much you wanna bet she's completely unconscious?" Ino raised her sticky head and sighed.

"Please Sakura; everyone knows the quiet ones are the freaks." Sakura chuckled and scratched her head. Her hair was oily with the heat and she'd have to scour her scalp with steel wool when she got home.

"What? You think she's violated poor Naruto or something?" Ino scoffed, spritzing a drooping flower lightly.

"I think he _asks_ for it." Sakura just laughed, and then just slumped down, chugging on a carbonated specialty from the shop nearby.

Ino tossed her own empty drink bottle towards the heap gathering around them.

"When my dad gets home he'll be pissed." Ino grumbled and Sakura giggled, flexing her bare feet. It had been so long since she and Ino had enjoyed a summer day, complete with grouching and the dancing talk around boys. The electric fan passed over them again, ruffling their hair.

Sakura felt herself tense a fraction.

"Did you feel that?" Ino whispered. Sakura opened her eyes to see Ino was propped up on the counter now, peering out into the streets. The people milled about as usual, unaware of the hot flash that had beaten its way across the village.

Sakura kept her green eyes trained on the wall opposite her as Ino kept her own gaze steady.

_Fwish_. The fan ruffled their hair again.

"It's hot..." Ino said softly, looking down at Sakura. The pinkette's face was grave, eyes wide with fear. She knew that, the heavy hot, panting, lead sensation in her stomach. The curtain of fire and blood that hung in the air. The air that now stood still as it crept up to her senses, penetrating her nerves and sending a horrible shiver.

_Fwish_. Tails. Swirling tails and Sakura's body almost tossed like a ragdoll's.

"Naruto." Ino didn't have time to react as Sakura disappeared in a cloud of energy, her hair ruffling from the passage of her friend. Ino, scrambling, clambered out from behind the counter and out into the road.

"SAKURA! SAKURA COME BACK! SAAAKURA!" She called, but she was already gone, out of sight. The people looked in the direction she had leapt.

* * *

Sakura wasn't stupid. She knew she couldn't run headlong into the presence she felt, but it didn't stop her from running headlong into one very preoccupied Shinobi. When her face was inches from Kiba's chest, Kakashi had barely arrived, snagging her out of his way.

"Did you feel it?" He hissed into her ear and Sakura nodded gravely, looking up at her sensei.

"Hai...it's just like the last time..." He bobbed his head briskly and Kiba raised his head, inhaling the air. Kakashi let Sakura go slowly and the kunoichi looked on in serious curiosity.

"He was with us; Kurenai and I that is. He smelled it before we felt it; we were just looking for you actually." Kakashi explained and Sakura kept her eyes on Kiba who looked severe.

"It smells like ash...and blood. But...Hinata..." He muttered, eyes opening suddenly. Sakura grabbed his sleeve.

"STOP!" She said forcefully, "Hold on! You have no idea what you're up against!" Kiba struggled and then held himself back, Akamaru bristling beside him.

"Yeah...you're right." He muttered, before looking at the other two, "You've been against it, but I haven't. You'll have to tell me what to do." Kakashi wiped away the sweat building under the line of his mask.

"There's nothing we can tell you, and that's the problem. Naruto is unpredictable and so powerful tracking his movements or predicting them is near impossible...that is, until we know his motives." Sakura looked at the ground.

"Basically, until we can find his trigger, we are useless. Naruto becomes very detached from reality when he's in this kind of state..." Sakura's sentence went out though as she felt the presence well up underneath the village, the whole place shivering with the power rolling off of Naruto's body.

"Captain...is he here?" Sakura whispered. Kakashi shook his head.

"Left this morning." Sakura took a step towards the growing power.

"We can't wait then." She murmured and with that the three took off, heading straight for the fray.

"He isn't moving very much...he's very docile actually." Sai said, landing beside the original three positioned in the trees. Sakura just shook her head.

"What is he doing?" She whispered and Kakashi closed his eyes.

"Something's happen. Something's shaken the balance..."

"HE'S COMING!" Kiba hollered, and Kakashi and Sakura tensed as Naruto became apparent.

He wasn't running. He was barely walking, but more slinking towards the village, his eyes dazed as he moved. He had not taken on much of the chakra as far as tails, only one blazed on as he moved in his curtain of red.

In his arms, Hinata was held against him, her hand lying lifelessly outside of his grasp, hair tumbling over his arm, her body covered in scratches and small burns, and one complete side of her torso so drenched in blood the wound was indistinguishable.

"She's alive!" Sakura shouted suddenly, and Kakashi held out his arm in front of her.

"Let me go...he doesn't look like he's truly been possessed yet...just barely though." He drawled and Sakura nodded, almost silent in her acknowledgement of Kakashi dropping gently to the ground.

Crouched low on the forest floor, Kakashi looked up into the stone eyes of his pupil. Naruto's blue was shifting in a dance between red and weak sapphire, causing it to look purple at times.

"Hello Naruto-kun." Naruto turned his head slightly in a flinching movement as Kakashi unfurled himself. His arms constricted against Hinata and Kakashi caught a fatal glimpse at the tear in her arm, or what he had expected to see left of it. In truth, the skin was bound messily and jaggedly, like an inexperienced surgeon had performed the operation as quickly and clumsily as he could on the battle field.

It didn't take long for Kakashi to piece two and two together.

"S-s-..." Naruto fumbled with the words and Kakashi smiled weakly.

"Hai, Naruto-kun. It's Sensei." The boy's mouth twitched and he inched closer.

"Hin..." He said, and Kakashi could see his tongue must have been thick in his mouth, along with the huge gash down the front of his shirt, littered with dry blood.

"Naruto-kun, you've done very well." Kakashi said seriously, "But you have to give Hinata-chan to us, alright? We have to get her to your Baa-chan." The boy nodded his head, like a puppet on a string.

"Sakura, quickly." In an instant, the medic was there, and Hinata was pushed out of Naruto's arms and into her and Kiba's, Sai still waiting above in case things got messy.

The girl was lifeless, but her breathing was slight, and her pulse a horribly fast, but steady thrum under Sakura's pale fingers; the scar across her shoulder blushed crimson with burns and Sakura closed her eyes in pain as Kiba looked down at his teammate, struggling for control.

"He tried to help her Kiba...look, he..." Kiba stopped her mid sentence.

"I know." He said, voice wavering. He helped Sakura drape Hinata into his arms and then backed off slowly towards the village.

Sakura kept her eyes on Naruto now.

"Naruto." She said softly and the boy looked towards her.

"Saku..ra." He mouthed and Sakura nodded her head.

"It's alright now Naruto." She replied, voice thick with tears, "It's going to be fine. You did very well." She tried to keep her voice even as the boy smiled, Sakura's heart snapped, and then everything sucked back into its vessel. He shuddered, and fell, straight onto Kakashi's waiting shoulder.

Kakashi didn't need to know why Sakura was crying as he held up the boy who looked like he himself had taken a spear to the heart, quite literally.

He knew he'd made a deal with the devil, probably in his own mind no-less.

The fox had probably played dirty.

"She won't survive." Sakura whispered, covering her eyes with her gloved hand. "And if she does...there's no telling what that chakra did to her system...she could be..."

"Hai." Kakashi murmured, and the heat hung still in the clearing once more.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!  
Please review, once again!**

xoxo,  
Spoons


	20. In which time falls into place

**Thank you,  
to everyone  
who stuck  
with this silly  
little story.**

**yours, so truly,  
Spoons**

**Moonstruck**

"Maybe sometimes, we've got it wrong, but it's alright.  
The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same.  
Don't you hesitate."

Corinne Bailey Rae

_It was a strange emotion that Hinata felt as she was pulled slowly backwards, reeled like a caught fish._

It was the feeling of her heart slowly being ripped from her chest.  
Before her, the voices dimmed until there was nothing but the echo remaining, and even it was pale. All around was darkness, but it was no pool like before. Whatever stood stationary beneath her was solid, concrete. There was distinction there, there was a grim reality.

No, this time Hinata knew things were different, much different.  
She did not float, but touched the damp Earth in the dark, her eyes consumed by tears. As soon as the silky grass touched her body she gave out, crumpling to the ground in sobs of loss, and grief. She had lost them, or, more likely, they had been taken from her. Her son. Her beautiful baby boy, her beautiful little boy.

The one she could only love now from afar, the one she had not been able to hold, but only drink in with her eyes. Her wonderful stranger, her quiet voice, her lovely, lovely prayer, had been stolen from her.

Sobs racked her body so strongly she convulsed; never in her life had she felt this pain. This pain. Naruto's face called out to her, the gradual slipping of her hand from his, her life from her body.

"No! NO!" She screamed, beating the ground, "YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!" She cursed God and country and the world, for none of them could comprehend that her heart had been shredded, left for her to fumble for. Her son. Her son.

Her beautiful son. Where was he? He should be in her arms. Sakura should be snapping photographs, his secret names whispered in the shell of his rosy ear, that red face puckered in tears, his cries like music.  
Naruto should be looking on in that wonderment she knew he would have, if only.

So consumed was she, that she did not notice the kiss of warm air, the tug of flagging clothing, the slink of trailing robes as a figure emerged from the inky black, dotted by scattering fireflies that had appeared, seemingly conjuring her from the air.

Hinata did not see the pale face, a snowdrift against the darkness, or the illuminated glow of her skin as she descended to Hinata's bereft frame. She did not know until thin arms captured her, holding her close, a hand fisting into her hair.

Hinata felt a gasp leave her lips as she peered over a silk-clad shoulder, a hair ornament dusted with silver cutlets and trinkets brushing her cheek. Midnight blue hair caressed her cheek and lavender enveloped her just as the arms had.

"Shhh…" Tears escaped Hinata's eyes as the ethereal glow consumed her. Her hands hung loosely in the air, distended in their surprise; her arms stiffly held under the one holding her so dearly, "Shhh…I'm here."

"You have done nothing. Nothing at all." It whispered.

Hinata felt overwhelming shock and fear and immense pain wash over her again, furthering the wound in her heart. She knew that voice, the cashmere kiss of sound against her ears, the cool breeze emitted from moonlight-pale lips. The scent of Lavender and Jasmine, the hair, the delicate hands crushing her skull against the frail shoulder.

"I'm here." The voice said once more, and a cheek laid itself against her head, the one holding her kneeling on the ground, bent over to support Hinata's trembling body. Hinata shook her head violently, tears clouding her every sense.

"NO! NO!" She cried, struggling. "No, get away! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Her screams were swallowed by the body before her, the person who had her captured. She had to get out.

"I have to go! I have to go!" The person's arms tightened.

"Go where, Hinata?" It chimed and Hinata beat at the back, but still had no escape.

"I have to go to Naruto! TO NARUTO! HE NEEDS ME!" She screamed, still thrashing, her eyes streaming her whole body convulsing. No. This time she would fight; they wouldn't be taken from her so easily.  
"NARUTO!" She screamed, "NARUTO! NARUTO, PLEASE!" The desperation in her voice caught the figure off guard as the arms that surrounded her trembled.

"He can't hear you Hinata." It said quietly, "He can't hear you anymore." It's voice was painted with regret as it talked. Hinata shook her head.

"No. NO! NARUTO!" Her voice drowned her, her tears taking everything and putting them out in streams of emotion, "He promised! HE PROMISED ME FOREVER!"

"YOU CAN'T GO BACK!" The voice shouted suddenly, yanking her backwards so that Hinata now stared into the face before her.

Haruhi's features contorted in agony at her daughter's distress as she shook her.

"You can never go back." She whispered as Hinata's face transformed into a pitiful mess of tears and quivers that spazmed across her cheeks and lips.

"Mother." Hinata whimpered, disbelieving eyes glued straight ahead. Wind rippled through a tree, touched the grass and danced across a small pond nearby, toying with Hinata's hair. Fireflies scattered and swam before her, hovering in front of her bedazzled eyes.

The finger's tightened.

"Mother!" Hinata cried. She could not believe it. And then suddenly, it was her mother all around her. Her mother, flesh and bone was touching her, holding her, attempting to be as close as life would allow. Hinata couldn't stop her hands as they moved by their own wills, clawing up her mother's back and cementing themselves in the folds of her robes.

"I'm so sorry." Her mother whimpered into her ear as Hinata's face dissolved into tears, crinkling like a child's and burying itself into her mother's shoulder. "I'm sorry that it must be like this."

"Mother!" Hinata cried again, this time her voice cracking with emotion as she let out another loose sob, holding herself as close as she could. Her Mother held her soundly, letting her eradicate all the tears from her eyes and the tremors from her soul and the cries of agony from her heart.

Her mother held her, safely, cradling her like a little girl.

"Why did you go?" Hinata whispered, "Why did you have to go? Didn't you know I needed you? I needed you with me? Hanabi and I…and Father...WHY DO THEY ALWAYS LEAVE ME?!" Hinata's mother had haunted her heart all her life, but now, before her, Hinata wasn't able to pacify the angry ghosts. The hurt and the betrayal from her Mother's death surfaced like turbulent waves. The traumatizing event of the one who bore you being taken, the confusion and the doubt that possibly it had been something she had caused. That perhaps, if she had only been a better daughter, her beautiful mother, her beautiful, cold mother would not have left her. Abandoned her. Haruhi awaited for the sobbing to cease before she released her hold.

"It is life." Her mother said softly, and then, she withdrew from Hinata, the emptiness of her arms like lead. Hinata looked up into her mother's face, and found it so similar, if not identical, to her own that it was as if she were looking in a mirror. Her hair was set by silver pins adorned with lotus and silver bells and butterflies tinkling around her head. Her clothes were shimmering in the moonlight that dusted the small lawn and the hands that took Hinata's face in their palms were not as cold as Hinata could have remembered, but all over Hinata it was numb. She was cold, and dead. The breathing that came into her was shallow and hollow, there was no heartbeat. Only a drum.

"Everything has a beginning, and everything has an ending, some sooner than others." Haruhi continued, wiping away Hinata's tears with the pads of her thumbs. Hinata stared at the woman she had not realized was one of the key elements missing in her life, the gaping hole in her heart that had been numbed by years of patient ignoring.

"Then it was you." Hinata concluded, staring into the pearly whites of her mother's eyes, "It was you all along…Naruto and Kiyoshi…it was you." Her mother's eyes hooded themselves and she nodded, accepting the accusation and the tears that once again resurfaced, dangling precariously close to spilling over.

"It was my final gift to you, my final granting wish that you would see what you'd dreamt of for so long. That you might have lived in happiness, if only for a moment...But I cannot change the course of destiny, and what must be must always be." Hinata closed her eyes, tears leaking out.

"But I will never see them again." She whispered, hands covering her face as her mother's fell away, "I will never see them again…"

Haruhi looked at her daughter and suffered as she did. She knew what it was like, to be taken from things you loved. She had loved Hiashi, and she had loved her daughters, it was only that she had been too proud to show it, among many other things that prevented her true affections. But she would never have wished it upon herself to die the way she did, of illness and a broken heart.

She would not see her daughter suffer so similarly; so when Hinata on the brink of death, she sacrificed the last wish she had to God, the one of a mother who could not be with her children. The gift of life to her Daughter, of life and happiness, and everything Haruhi could never give her.

"It isn't so." Haruhi soothed gently, standing, her robes falling about in a cascade of fabric. Hinata raised her head and saw her mother's face was turned towards the earth.

"Life does not end so abruptly, even when destiny does not compromise itself. Time however, does not stop, not even for the dead." She curled her fingers into a fist and a beautiful camellia surfaced from her palm when she reopened them. Hinata watched in fascination as her mother let the wind carry the camellia to the ground.

"But life is a beautiful thing," She said so softly it was barely a murmur, studying the camellia as it floated downwards, settling on the ground, "Where one thing falls… another grows…maybe not what was there before, but something new and wonderful all the same." The camellia sank into the earth and twisted, forming a huge iris, moon-white with milky purple on its ruffled petals. Hinata stared at the iris and her mother folded her hands calmly into her sleeves.

"Where I fell, you will blossom into something even I could not imagine." Hinata felt as though a great weight had lifted, as though the validation she'd waited for, even the one Naruto couldn't give her with all the love in the world, had finally entered her heart.

"I won't remember them, will I?" Hinata whispered, still gazing at the flower. Her mother smiled sadly to herself.

"A glimpse is nothing more than a fleeting glance; a flash of light and nothing more. So no, you will not recall the years here because you did not truly see them." Hinata nodded quietly, eyes closing.

"You have gifts to give, beautiful gifts that only you may use, do not waste them Hinata. Do not doubt yourself any longer…"

"But what of Father?" Hinata said suddenly, her empty voice hanging in the air between the two of them. Haruhi sighed heavily and her face took on a great sadness.

"Your Father is a good man. You may not see it now, but he has great compassion for his people, for his village, and most importantly…" She gently tucked a stray sliver of hair from Hinata's face away, "…for his Daughters. He wants all for you in this world; he wishes you to be safe." Hinata pushed her mother's hand away.

"Then why is he the way he is? Why does he think…think that ruining my life is the way to do that? Why must everything possess such ultimatum?" Hinata pressed. Haruhi looked distant and then severe, eyes peering out from beneath her indigo lashes.

"Your Father's vice is guilt. He believes that he was the cause of my death, which is completely false. I couldn't have died in a more natural, unoffending way." Her mother tossed her head in a way that was so patently Hanabi it might have made her laugh.

"How could Father possibly have caused your death?" Hinata instead said evenly, to which her mother looked wistfully at the pool of water nearby.

"He wanted to shelter me from everything when he assumed his position, and because I loved him I did as he said, but not without bitterness for the life I had before. I traveled and I saw, and then I was confined…to an extent no better than a sealed child." Hinata felt the cold rush of her mother's words. Her Mother may have saved her, but she was still tucked away in old times, old fashioned ways set stone deep into her mind. "Your Father believed that, because he loved me so, he broke me. So now, he distances himself from you, he tries to push you away under the pretext of trapping you when truly it's his love that is the only thing that's ever compelled him." She continued.

"Father." Hinata sighed, rubbing her sore eyes. She felt as though she'd cried a thousand tears, and she was nothing but desert now, dry and vacant. "Why must it always be so complicated with him." She muttered and Haruhi smiled.

"Your Father's nature is only his nature, but if you are careful, he can be as transparent as glass." Haruhi chuckled, "It's one of the reasons I suppose I loved him. Under that rock is a heart that is warmer than anything I've encountered, so you must give both of you the chance to grow, because it seems, that my family has forgotten how to be alive." Haruhi continued, looking off towards the pool, watching as dusky light gathered on the horizon, "After all…time will not wait for you."

Hinata lifted her head and stared at the light enveloping the darkness, and felt a surge of panic. Dawn was coming, and with dawn came the new days, and with new days came new fears.

"What about my son?!" She cried suddenly looking towards her mother. Haruhi smiled knowingly.

All of a sudden a sound broke over her shoulder as the sun approached. Wind whipped Hinata's hair as she peered around her mother who had already turned.

A child broke from a clearing of trees, young and vibrant; his hair glistening like cut onyx in the morning light. He glowed and stumbled along, but ran forward, always forward.

"Kiyoshi…" Hinata gasped watching as he ran about, and in her desperation she leapt from the ground, running towards him, crying his name over and over.

But her son did not see them. He chased a flying bird, his kimono rustling with each step, and as he ran, he grew, from little toddling boy to child, to an awkward fledgling to a young figure with arms spread wide, and then a tall and beautiful man who slowed and stared at the bird he now had captured in his hands before releasing it again into the air. His laughter hit her ears like music and his face split into a foxy grin that could be none other than Naruto's. He called and chased and laughed and Hinata felt the tears come again in a silent flood this time.

"Kiyoshi…" She grabbed her heart through her chest, the thrum strong and warm beneath her fingertips.

He had been with her all along.

There was more to life than her, there was more to the world than earth and wood and steel.  
There was peace, and there was wonder, and there were so many things she had been missing on.

Something passed then, a throb of energy that released itself, dissipating across the grass that still shuddered with the change in the air. The world no longer held her breath. Hinata opened her eyes, staring up at her Mother.

"Where will you be?" Hinata said as light disintegrated the fireflies and the image began to fade. Haruhi touched her daughter's cheek.

"Where I have always been…" She whispered. Hinata grabbed her hand, holding with all her might, "watching, patiently, for the days to come."

The image only flickered and smiled. Silver trails stood out against the soft cheeks, but perhaps it had only been a trick of the fast approaching light, for soon everything went white, and Hinata fell into the beams, covered in warmth.

"My final gift…is for your happiness…" The words rang in her heart as Hinata ascended, no longer falling but flying, upwards, towards the sunlight burning through her tears. Her heart, so empty became whole again.

She felt warmth again, after a thousand years. Peace.

And in her chest, her heart hummed to life, sewed and stitched, and Hinata, was born again for the third time.

And somewhere, a child laughed, but not so hauntingly, but brightly, like a new-born star.

* * *

Being born again was a funny thing, and it was something we never got used to. She awoke in a hospital room, bathed in white and blinking rapidly as her heart beeped in perfect time beside her, flashing across a black screen. It was concrete evidence that she was alive, breathing, moving, thinking, touching, loving, being. Her entire head felt like feathers, her body light and airy, but heavy with sleep. She blinked blearily and rolled her bandaged head, only vaguely aware that she was in the hospital room, and that her arm was tightly bandaged to her side and aching rather badly.

"Oh My God!" Hinata winced as the voice hit her ears, shaking her head and staring in horrible double vision at a petite medic who had dropped her clipboard at the sight of a conscious Hinata, and stared at her.

"W-what happened?" Hinata questioned, her mouth dry from nonuse and her tongue clumsy she raised her good hand to rub the sleep from her eyes and the medic continued to gape.

"T-TSUNADE-SAMA!" She screamed suddenly, to which the voluptuous blonde in question came rushing in, grabbing the medic's shoulder and shaking her harshly.

"I told you only to yell if she woke up!" She shouted and Hinata winced again, not used to such noise. The medic only trembled, eyes still glued to Hinata, and raised a shaking hand.

"L-look!" She cried, and Tsunade followed the finger begrudgingly before meeting Hinata's pale and sleepy eyes. The light brown pools widened in disbelief.

"I-impossible!" Tsunade said, shoving the medic, but forgetting her strength, causing her to go through the open door. The blonde came right up to Hinata, looking just as shocked as the poor bandaged girl on the bed.

"H-Hinata?" Tsunade questioned. Hinata looked up at the Hokage and swallowed.

"Hokage-sama, do you mind telling me what exactly is going on?" Tsunade just shook her head.

"What's going on? You shouldn't…there is no way…" Hinata's brow furrowed in confusion as Tsunade attempted to explain.

"You've been comatose for close to three weeks! There was almost no chance of you ever waking up…and after the blood loss and the trauma, we thought there was no way…not to mention the foreign chakra…" Hinata shook her head slowly, Tsunade going too fast for her. The Hokage just heaved an enormous sigh and put a ginger hand on her patient's shoulder.

"Well…let's just start at the beginning, shall we?" Hinata nodded, her heart still beating steadily.

"The beginning is a wonderful place to start."

* * *

Tsunade wove a dramatic tale, full of huge proportions and strange things that made Hinata's mind boggle itself, and when all was said and done she leaned against the pillows beneath her and closed her eyes.

"How do you feel?" The woman questioned, still positioned nearby. Hinata's eyes opened slowly, sun pouring out of the window by the bed and leaking his golden fingers onto the sheets. She took in the warmth and stared at the glass, watching trees shimmer in the light outside, an unknown appreciation settling over her.

"As though I've lost something precious to me." She said clearly, before looking down at her bandaged arm, held taught against her body. She flexed the fingers she saw as if they were only an illusion.

"As though…I've missed out on some important idea. And, also, I feel like I've had a very long and confusing dream." Hinata's mind fought to conjure up some kind of thread as to what had gone one in her brain for so long, but drew a blank.

All that was there was the feeling.

"Near death experiences will do that." Tsunade sighed, scratching on the clipboard she held before smiling warmly at her still immobile patient. It would take time for Hinata to gain her sea-legs again, but when it happened, Tsunade could sense that things were changing.

Hinata nodded and then looked at her Hokage with a slight grin.

"Thank you for taking such good care of me." She said sleepily, the IV drip beginning to set into her still aching bones. Tsunade smiled back, opening the door and edging out of it.

"Only doing my job." She chuckled, closing the door softly behind her.

"How is she?" Tsunade started as she came face to face with a very blonde, very concerned looking boy. She clucked her tongue and rapped him on the head with her clipboard.

"Sleeping." Naruto scowled and pushed the clipboard aside, making Tsunade laugh.

"I'm serious! Is she alright?" He pressed, hands tensing in the pockets of his shorts. Tsunade shook her head.

"Baka." She said with a silly grin, "She's no worse for wear…she'll be discharged in a few days." Naruto looked satisfied and nodded, but soon his face took a grim shadow.

"What?" Tsunade asked, tilting her head and putting the clipboard under her arm. Naruto looked at the tiled floor of the hospital hallway and shrugged.

"What if she…what if she hates me. For what happened." He said simply, blue eyes narrowed in thought. Tsuande just rolled her eyes.

"You really are an idiot. How long will it take I wonder, before you finally get what's been going on right in front of you? The first person she asked about was you, stupid." Tsunade exclaimed with a toss of her head. Naruto's brow furrowed and he looked up at the woman suspiciously.

"What do you mean by all that, old woman?" He demanded following quickly as she started to walk away, heels clacking on the tile.

"Exactly what I say!" Tsunade declared, leaving Naruto looking as dumbfounded as before. He watched the woman's back as she advanced down the hall, but turned to the door that was shut against his visitation, thinking about the girl lying inside. He hesitated for a moment, shook his head and started after the Hokage, shouting about wrinkles.

* * *

Hinata was discharged three days later, looking pale and thin, but happy. She was escorted, naturally, by her teammates who looked so worried she almost laughed.

"You really feeling ok? I mean, you can always stay with Kurenai-sensei. You don't have to go over to your Father's just cuz' he says to." Kiba said as they approached the compound's formidable entrance, Neji waiting expectantly outside, pretending to be uninterested. Hinata sighed and smiled at her long time friend.

"He insists. It's better than not caring, ne?" She said softly as she walked towards her cousin. Kiba just shook his head.

"Is it just me, or is Hinata acting weird?"  
Shino coughed slightly and Kiba rolled his eyes in irritation.

"I mean weirder than usual. Do you think she's really ok to go home? What do we do now?" Shino just turned and walked away, leaving Kiba scrambling behind him.

"For now, we shall be supportive. Hinata has endured a lot and as her teammates we are obligated to respect that and allow her time to adjust." Shino said tersly as they walked. Kiba just flopped his head backwards against his hood.

"God Shino, I was just implying we buy her a card or something. Jeez."

* * *

Her Father was not waiting for her, but she accepted it with grace. She walked passed his room and did not pause for very long.

She felt as though she had not been in her bedroom for years, and when her body sank into the sheets of her futon, she almost cried with joy. The familiarity of her comforts; her trunk of kimonos, her pillows, her blankets.

Her embroidery sat untouched on the mat right inside her covered patio, and a cat slept soundly on the wood, his shadow filtering through the screens and gauzy curtains that encased her. She buried her head and fished around underneath her.

"Momo" She whispered affectionately, the heady scent of childhood permeating her skin as she cuddled the small stuffed cat close to her, nuzzling her nose into its ragged head.

She'd missed the quietness of her room; the creak of the house as it shifted on its wooden legs, the whisper of trees and quiet stirrings of birds in her tiny yard.

A sparrow flapped her wings in a bowl of water near the edge of her deck and Hinata slid her feet to the ground, watching it cautiously, half off of her raised bed, the other still lying in the linens.

"Neji-nii has been keeping you, I see…" She murmured, watching the brown bird startle and flit off into the trees, nesting in the forks of low branches in the lawns beyond her own. She brushed the hair from her forehead and rested her head on her hands before the fingers slid down to her neck, massaging the muscles there.

"Are you well?" Hinata raised her head as the voice shook her from her thoughts, turning slightly over her shoulder to see Hanabi standing stiffly by her door, having evidently slid it open with her foot.

"Hanabi." Hinata said cheerfully, smiling at her sister and standing up, making Hanabi back just a fraction out of the room.

"Hanabi, later, would you like to go into town with me? Maybe not today…I feel too tired, but maybe later. I feel like planting a garden." Hanabi wrinkled her little face, the pretty features constricting.

"A garden? Really? Is that proper?" Hinata shrugged and smiled quite happily.

"Probably not, but then again, we have to keep up our reputations as horrible good-for-nothing daughters." Hanabi's mouth twitched at this statement and Hinata felt a foreign satisfaction hit her like a wave. It was like the feeling that compelled her to reach out to her sister in any way as soon as she had seen her standing there. The need to be near her, as though their very lives depended on it.

Hanabi smiled a little, an awkward, odd smile that not truly found place on her delicate cheeks, but instead strung itself tightly and unsurely across her chin.

"Well…perhaps later. After I train…" Hanabi replied, looking rather embarrassed and uncertain. Hinata nodded her head once.

"That would be nice. You could help me decide on what to plant…I noticed your roses are looking very well." Hanabi flushed.

"You know about them?" Hinata laughed and put Momo down on the bed, walking towards her sister.

"Maybe one day, I'll teach you how to cook, but only if you help me garden!" She exclaimed. Hanabi backed up and looked at the being in front of her, completely unconvinced that it was really her sister.

"Are you sure you're alright sister? You're acting…oddly." Hanabi muttered as she made room for Hinata to get into the passage. Hinata stared at Hanabi for the longest time, as though it took a century to think of the proper words.

"I don't know how I feel. It's all very new." She said turning towards the yard where the sparrow and several others had returned, "It's like a new page has turned." She rambled before closing her eyes briefly and turning down the hall.

Hanabi watched in silent contemplation as her sister disappeared before looking around cautiously.

Without a sound she reached under her robe and drew out a bag of crumbled bread, and slipped silently into her sister's room.

It was nice, she thought.

She had hated the emptiness of that room while her sister was gone, but it seemed as though something hung in the air now; a piece of something had been exhaled and the world no longer held her breath, but sang with it.

* * *

Hinata didn't know how many times she wandered through the house after the day she returned. Every time she left her room she was somewhere else, taking it all in, basking in it.

She noticed things.

But most importantly, she became aware of her Father.

The morning she crept after him was not on accident, but quite by choice. She'd been patiently waiting for today after several weeks of recuperation. She'd watched carefully his small routines, and today was a bright and sunny Friday morning and she knew where her Father would be.

The shrine was far out in a secluded section of the garden, and Hinata trailed far behind her Father, but he didn't even seem to notice the people he passed, too consumed with his many thoughts. His step was slow and pensive, but also hesitant, and Hinata, for a reason she could not quite comprehend, slightly understood.

So when he knelt to the ground, Hinata waited for a very long time before she approached the grave, holding the incense she and Hanabi had bought among other little things Hanabi had found impeccably interesting on their last outing. Hinata still had not bought flowers, and everywhere she went she only thought of how wonderful it would be to plant irises there.

But now Hinata knelt far enough away from her Father's honed senses that he did not notice, his hands folded, head bowed, eyes closed. She sank to the ground and leaned forward placing the incense in the small bowl near the base of the stone marker, lighting it with a match and sat back.

The silence was deep as they sat beside each other, and Hinata felt neither comfort nor discomfort, but only silky indifference as she knelt there, her hands folded together, her heart humming with prayers she had meant to say a million times, only now they did not catch on her tongue but spilled out like tears.

"Hinata." Hiashi said suddenly, and Hinata opened her eyes, watching the incense burn slowly. Hiashi's eyes remained firmly closed.

"How did you know it was me?" She asked quietly, and Hiashi let out a small scoff.

"You? I'd know you if I was blind." She looked down at the floor in the small shrine, smoke wafting among the low rafters.

"Would you?" She murmured suddenly, and her Father seemed to soften beside her.

"Yes. I would know." He answered softly, "You walk like your Mother." He raised his head finally, and his eyes opened, trained on the shrine; so many names before him. So many that he missed and loved, so many that were gone.

"Do you miss her?" Hinata said, and Hiashi sighed.

"She is like air. I cannot go long without her, yet I could never hold her for long." He turned to his daughter slowly.

"Why did you follow me? Don't you have anything better to be doing? Training perhaps?" Hinata stared at her Mother's shrine and smiled knowingly.

"I don't know." Hiashi blinked slowly and turned his head back towards his wife's grave silently.

"Your Mother…she would be very proud of you." He muttered, eyes closing in prayer. Hinata smiled to herself, secretly.

"Hai." She whispered, and everything settled, the air still, but not so foreboding as it hung between them.

"She was a horrible Hyuuga though. She never did anything properly. She carved her own ways." Hiashi said and Hinata smiled to herself.

"To favor such a woman." She responded and Hiashi smiled, though there was no one to see but himself.

"Such a woman to become." Hinata stared at the shrine before her.

"I don't have to become like my mother." She blinked in the sunlight bouncing off the glossy blackness of her mother's name. "Not if it isn't what I desire."

Hiashi felt a heavy breath cave in his lungs as he felt the sense of longing in his daughter's voice.

"Then…what is it that is so important to you that you must carve your own ways? What is so important that you must be weak and senseless and difficult?" He whispered. "What is so important that you must go against everything you are told and fall at every expectation?"

Such similar situations; life revolved, Hiashi figured. It came full circle, tilting this way and that, but full circle.

_"You can't keep me locked up in here." Her eyes had been wide with fire and sharp with her silly, petty, beautiful anger. His hands, a bit younger, a bit softer, had clutched at her face, her clothes. _

_"Please, I want you to be safe." Images locked away for so long surfaced in the blotched sunlight wafting through the trees. He had tried so valiantly to keep her from the world, shelter her. If he could have her to himself, keep her away from their prying eyes and dagger tongues. If he could bear the burden he could live with himself…_

_And yet. _

_"Hiashi…Hiashi…" her dying breathes as he held her hand in silence, tears coursing from his eyes. Peering faces around the corner, entertained by a round nurse with long silver hair burned through his skin. Haruhi. His only wonder, his only reason to smile to laugh, had died and so the rest of his heart had died along with her. He'd known long ago whatever affection he had left for people had been buried with her. _

He'd buried her alive. Under brick and mortar and pounds of love he'd suffocated the bird, crushed the flower.

So he distanced himself from the ones after words.

He'd only maniupulate them to keep them safer, and safety came in his temper and his bitterness, and his longing.

And mostly, Hiashi's loneliness became the best of him, and he was what he always knew he would become.

Cold. His hands were numb, his heart thumped, but it was hollowed and smoothed free of emotion, sanded and grinded to a glorious sheen of glossy veneered wood.

But there was more to it, contemplated the subtle Lord. Beside him it stirred.

Hinata was tilting her head to her Father's question, but the answer did not have to be found for it was sitting soundly in front of her, speaking through the stone and grass. It spoke through the sky and the earth and the birds. It was in Kiba. In Shino. It was in Ino and Sakura and somewhere, far beyond the reaches of Hinata's mind, the Uchiha Prince, and Neji and Lee.

It was with Naruto. It was with Kurenai. It was in Hanabi and water and sun and stars, and the wandering, vast moon.

Hinata's face melted into a contemplative smile as she thought.  
It was not with her Father, nor the council, nor the other souls that came to her mind, because time did not wait for them, as it is want to do.

"The potential." She said softly, "To be. To live to love and to be more than a Hyuuga or a shinobi." She looked at her Father and stared at him, his eyes closed and face lax.

"All I want in my life is to finally, finally be Hinata and all it brings. And that's why, I suppose. Why I must be contrary and odd to you."

"Such aspirations. The world is not so open nor is it so forgiving to allow such petty dreams." Hiashi said thickly, beginning to stand. Hinata nodded to herself.

"I know. I've lived it." Hiashi stopped his exit of the shrine and turned back at the girl who lit another stick of incense and bowed her head.

"You have too, haven't you Father?" She whispered, and it was almost as a prayer, floating upwards to the heavens and into Hiashi's head. A white-winged dove shooting against a dazzling sapphire sky, littered with clouds.

Yes. He supposed silently, although Hyuuga don't typically suppose, but contemplate fact.

He had lived it. He had...once, harbored the same dreams. A young man in gold and that sour-faced friend of theirs. A trio that was said to be as powerful as it was dysfunctional.

Hiashi felt his heart spasm.

What would he say now?

What would Yamato say, he supposed if he saw what had become of him?

"He would say...I look old." Hiashi said very quietly, so quietly no one heard him.

There was belonging between them, some foreign wisdom had seeded itself into her. Somewhere, Hiashi knew it was not death's doing, but perhaps a soul should flight upon her kin and resurrect what had been lost for so long.

Hiashi was tired of winter. He was finally through with snow and ice and plagues of gray.

And the sun shone through so clearly; towards the light, a sunflower bobbing her black head in time to whatever she pleased, much like the ones before her, the one before her. Summer was coming; Hiashi could feel it in his bones.

To himself, he smiled, though none would have guessed.

'There will be nothing we can do' he mused silently, 'For a Hyuuga cannot change the weather, though we have tried so many times I've lost count.'

There was an emptiness left behind at Hiashi's departure, but there also, growing soundly, was peace.

_Live everyday as if it were your last_. Hinata thought to herself.

Such wise, wise words, though someone else had told her something much more important. Time does not wait, and somewhere in the haze of living, there are gifts that we must give and there are people we must love, and though they leave us moonstruck and confused, they are our own.

And we are but humans, and we are but glimpses, but the sun will always rise again, and in her absence the moon hangs to fill the spaces between.

Where there is shade there is surely light, where silence, surely there is music.  
And, so we walk, through day and night and sun and moon and rain.

Always walking, always moving towards forever.

And what will be, will always, most always be, but we may only become if we desire.  
Hinata desired it with all of her heart.

And somewhere, a quiet voice became suddenly, beautifully, heard.

* * *

**.Epilogue.**

Hinata was not paying much attention as Hanabi walked beside her, carrying the huge trays of irises, gleaming purple and still damp from Ino's shop. They did not speak very much but stayed in quiet company, conversations pulling at their tongues from time to time, but mostly they remained content in the lack of words. The flowers had been an impulse.

Hinata had woken up one morning and insisted, like for the very life of her, the world would end if she didn't.

Perhaps it was the sun glinting playfully on her eyes, or Hanabi's mild words as she spotted a new type of clothing she'd never seen before, or recorded yet another 'pesky mouse' darting sleepily into the cracks of a building in the afternoon heat, or maybe she was just reffering to Konohamaru haggling some poor shop lady, but still looking particularly interesting to a pair of very serious Hyuuga eyes.

Whatever the reason, Hinata was not watching the road carefully and was much too consumed by her own mind to have really notice anything inparticular that day. She'd been feeling very odd as of late; as though even if things were becoming somewhat tranquil within her own family some key element was missing, some glaring object that had offensively been protruding into her brain making her nervous and distracted.

So when something came barreling down the street, not paying much mind to girls and flowers, Hinata could not have been less prepared.

Her irises, so beautiful and new, went toppling out of her hands and crashing to the ground; a good month's salary had been spent on the exotic plants that Ino had specially ordered. Since Hinata had realized that she and Hanabi were not as talented as they had originally thought and after more than one heartbreaking failure had decided that perhaps starting with something already alive might be a better course of action. The need to buy them that morning had only cemented the deal.

In the fray they hit the ground with a sickening twist of plastic and explosion of soil. Hinata herself was knocked backwards, falling hard to the road, her ninja instincts not having been enough to keep her on her toes or even keep her from not catching herself. She looked dizzily up, and was met by the cerulean blue of the sky before shaking her head and looking beside her.

Crumpled iris bodies lay disheveled and defeated on the road, and Hinata put a hand to her lips.

"My flowers!" She wailed, touching a stalk to have the petals fall off in a very depressing manner.

"Holy- I mean crap! I am so sorry, here let me help!" She was only vaguely aware of the voice next to her as it spoke hurriedly and caked itself in high amounts of shame. There was a scramble of feet as someone collected themselves and approached her.

"Here, let me help you up…" The voice grumbled roughly and Hinata looked up with her eyes swimming with pitiful tears, "I wasn't watching…I'm so sorry! God, really!"

"T-thank you." She murmured, taking the tan hand that was being offered, finally looking up at the accusers face as she wiped her own cheeks hastily.

The hand that held hers constricted instantly as Hinata stared up at Naruto, her eyes wide as dinner plates.

"Sorry about…your…" Naruto started, before trailing off, his face taking on a completely dumbfounded appearance. Hinata moved her mouth silently before the words came out correctly.

It was insane. She was going crazy. The Déjà vu was intense, so intense it was almost real. Hinata felt the familiarity flow over her so strongly she couldn't speak. His hand in hers, only perhaps, it had been another time, and she had been helping him off the ground; and Hanabi's unhappy babbling had been something else. A yapping dog maybe?

But the irises were there; their continuity was startling as Hinata blinked rapidly at the boy hovering over her, the words flooding her tongue as though they belonged there.

"…Flowers. You ruined my flowers." She said breathlessly, still gaping at him. He didn't let go of her hand as he pulled her all the way up, still staring deeply into her eyes, the same emotions of his face playing a mirror to whatever was going on in her own head.

"Yeah. I did, didn't I?" He added quietly and Hinata felt her head bob itself without her brain's permission, the movement completely automatic. Everything hazed out, and focused on the two of them, and nothing more. A thousand nights in one second, three hundred and sixty degrees of absolutely everything was all Hinata could see at the point as the words tumbled off her lips, beyond her control.

"You ask me for ramen." She said finally and Naruto blinked at her, his brows rising.

"Yeah I do, don't I?" He whispered roughly and Hinata felt something click into place; the extra piece she had been missing tucked itself into the space it belonged.

Her mouth pulled into a smile, a disbelieving, unsure one as she held the boy's hand, staring into the eyes she had seen a hundred times and a hundred times again but looked so different. Older…an old, old friend she'd missed for a very long time.  
The friend you didn't remember until you met them and then, you remembered how much you loved them, but even then it was so dear Hinata felt nothing but tingling warmth from her head to her toes.

She felt, incredible, indescribable happiness, just at seeing him.

And by the way he was staring at her, it was if he was just as shocked; perhaps when he saw her eyes he saw the same thing.

An old, dear friend.

"And I say…and I say yes." She stated, and it was automatic. She didn't even have to wait to say it; it just happened, like time was already pulling her along.

Naruto's own face hesitated before breaking completely apart.

"Yeah," He breathed, smiling stupidly at her, "that's exactly how it goes."

She smiled at him and tightened her hand in his, and for a very split second Naruto was replaced, but not with someone else, but sometime else.

"…Forever." He said, still grinning, the promise hanging securely between them, connected, whole. Hinata beamed.

"Forever is an awfully long time."

Because there are some promises that are never broken, and some destinies that always happen, because what will be will always, most certainly, _be_.

And forever is, in fact, an awfully long time.

**The End**

* * *

As I write this, I'm crying. Not because I'm unhappy, but because I feel so fufilled. This long (and strenuous on my part) journey is finally over. It's complete.

I have poured my heart into this little fic and the ending still makes me get pins and needles.

That final, tantalizing moment when everything _fits_ and you realize that they are so meant to be, **time doesn't wait for them, but they only had to wait for time**.

I hope its as happy for you as it was for me, because I really REALLY wanted to make you an ending where you could have your cake, and then decide how to eat it. What happens is up to you, you're imaginations are free to make anything, but they're _together_.

In the most wonderful way.

Thankyou. From the bottom of my heart.

If you're interested in a playlist for this fic (dorky I know, but if twilight has one, so can I), just PM me!

xoxo,  
Spoons

A sequal will probably be out sometime later this year, so please keep an eye out for it!


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